Sword, Sheath, Steel and Sea
by kujikiri21
Summary: Amphitrite found out about the Jackson twins and delivered her vengeance. Now banished from his realm and landing in a fire that has twisted his existence. What will this boy do. Percy is Shirou. Fate AU. Pairing undecided. On HIATUS
1. The Steel Sea Prologue

Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own F/SN or PJATO

_August 18, 1993_

_Elmhurst Hospital Centre_

_8:00 pm_

The fluroescent lights flickered in the waiting room of the Maternity Ward. A tall man with inky black hair and sea green sat against the wall, anxiously awaiting news.

Poseidon was worried. He felt the surge in power through his link with his as yet unborn child. Knowing its meaning he had hastened to Sally and had arrived in time in to see her water break. Without a word, he teleported to the nearest medical centre where the medical officers, upon seeing the situation, had quickly rushed her to a bed. Leaving Poseidon alone with his worried thoughts.

That was six hours ago.

Poseidon lifted his head as the clack-clack of heels approached him.

"Excuse me, Sir. Are you the man who came in with the pregnant woman about six hours ago?" the nurse asked.

"I am." He answered.

"If you could please follow me?"

Rising swiftly, he followed the nurse. His gait easily keeping up with the nurse despite his unfamiliarity with the hospital.

The nurse calmly spoke as they walked.

"You will be happy to know that birth went well and that Miss Jackson is waiting for you to arrive for the naming of the children."

Poseidon froze in place for a moment and swayed.

"_Children! _As in more than one?!"

The nurse looked surprised.

"Why yes. Fraternal twins, one of each gender. Didn't you know?"

Poseidon recovered himself slightly and moved more swiftly along the floor, following his sense of the sea.

"No. We were keeping it a surprise."

Shortly after they reached the ward and the Sea Lord firmly pushed open the doors and, with purpose, strode towards the woman who had taken his heart some time ago.

Upon the bed, looking disheveled but radiant, with each arm wrapped around a precious child, was the mother, Sally Jackson. Looking up she saw the Olympian and smiled, tired and happy.

"Hey." she said softly

"Hey." He replied looking at the three on the bed warmly.

A small cough turned both their attention to a doctor at the side.

"I hate to interupt but I need to make my rounds soon, so I need names for the young ones." He said, smiling ruefully.

Poseidon and Sally looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between them. In synch they spoke as they turned back to the doctor.

_"Perseus and Andromeda."_

* * *

_Central Park_

_New York_

_February 10, 1998_

A red headed woman with sea green eyes sat on a bench watching children play together in the playground with their parents watching on. Her mouthed curled into a sneer of hate and disgust as she saw two in particular, a boy with tanned skin, inky black hair and ocean green eyes and a girl of the same age with reddish brown hair and the same eyes.

"It's not very pleasent seeing evidence of a husbands wandering ways is it?" a voice said suddenly behind her, causing the woman to almost leap to her feet to stare at the owner. It was a small man with sharp features, dishevelled black hair, beady brown eyes and a sly almost oily look about him. His manner screamed untrustworthiness. Even so, the woman's eyes lit in recognition and mild dislike.

"As if you would even know the touch of a woman, Momus," the woman sneered.

"Oh! How you wound me so, oh radiant queen of the seas," cried Momus, dramatically.

The Queen growled in a low tone,

"Enough of your poisonous drivel! Do you have the formula that I requested?"

"Indeed I do Lady Amphi-ooph!" Momus started until he was rammed in the gut with the Queen's elbow.

"Don't!", she hissed, "Say my name. I have no desire to come into contact with my pathetic husband until I have sated my thirst for vengeance,"

Momus gulped.

"As you wish my lady. Still here is the potion." he said while passing a small clouded glass bottle filled with a rippling fluroescent green liquid.

The queen examined it carefully with an unholy gleam in her eyes and a vicious smile on her face.

Momus continued hurriedly, not wanting to get struck again.

"Specially made by myself, a mix of the Lethe and Memnosyne and various other ingredients. Pour this over a person and memories of that person in other beings minds will be erased. The mother will not know her own child even if they were to scream it to Olympus in her very face. The only catch that because it is a mix it is not as powerful as the pure water, as such full deities will retain their memories and half bloods and clear sighted mortals _may _regain their if confronted with enough evidence and enough time has passed for the potion to weaken." he smugly stated, having reagined his confidence during his explanation.

"Excellent," purred the Queen, "You have performed magnificently."

The queen reached into her green leather purse and drew out a small purple drawstring bag and negligently tossed it to the rat-like man.

"Your payment."

Momus caught it calmly and bowed floridly,

"My humble thanks to you, my lady. It was my _distinct pleasure _to provide you with the means to give Barnacle Beard a thousand agonies."

Turning on his heel he seemed to fade into the air, leaving only a mockery of laughter in his wake.

The queen, smiling wickedly, placed the bottle carefully in her purse and started to walk away before pausing and taking a last look at the two children, who had by this time rejoined their mother to return home.

"Soon children," she crooned eerily, "There will be an accounting for your father's insult to me and you will be footing the bill."

With those last words said, the vengeful Queen of the Seas, Daughter of Oceanus, Wife to Poseidon, Lady Amphitrite herself, strode away, her heels clicking sharply against the pavement until she too seemed to fade away, leaving only the scent of the sea before a storm erupts.

* * *

_Home of Sally Jackson and Gabe Ugliano_

_New York_

_April 6, 1998_

_8:00pm_

The night was quiet. Everyone had turned in early that night. Even Gabe was too tired to drunkenly yell at Sally that night and had instead fallen asleep on his Lay-Z-Boy chair in front of ESPN. It was indeed a rare night of peace in this household.

But not for long.

An open window in the dining room stirred in a sudden stiff breeze. In a moment Amphitrite materialised and calmly went about her personal vengeance with a song in her blackened heart and a skip in her step.

She soon reached the room that the twins shared and silently opened it.

There they were on single beds on opposites sides of the room. Her face twisted into a gloating vicious smirk she examined them one at a time, trying to choose which one to apply the potion to and which to let live with the knowledge that deep in their soul, they missing something precious them.

Looking at the girl, Amphitrite noticed that she was curled up peacefully, facing the wall. Her breathes were even and calm, her faced relaxed and happy. Anger surged in the Queen's mind. How dare she look happy. How dare she be at peace after what her father had done to his wife. Scowling, she began to stride towards the girl until her senses flared and she leapt sideways into an ungraceful roll, her head just missing being struck by a baseball bat swung hard by the now awake Perseus from behind.

Snarling in an almost feral tone, she looked at her attacker. Dressed in a New York Giants set of Pajamas, barefoot and holding a baseball bat almost as long as he was tall was Perseus Hector Jackson. The boy moved from behind where she was to between her and his sister. Amphitrite's eyes narrowed into slits as she rose slowly from the floor, her mind already choosing him as the recipient of the vials contents and the second _gift._

"Who are you? What do you want?" the boy shouted. It would have woken the house had the Queen not cast a silencing and sleeping spell on the rest of the apartment as she had risen.

Not hearing an answer from the strange woman Perseus charged her with the bat raised to strike. Amphitrite dodged the swing and went to strike the boy but he had spun away with the bat and with a full 360 swing struck her in the gut. The bat cracked but the woman did not move an inch. Growling harshly, the Queen's hand struck out again, like a serpent surging at it's prey and grabbed the almost six year old boy around the throat and lifted. Choking, the boy called Percy by his mother dropped the bat and tried to pry the hand off his throat.

"Enough, you little shit!" snarled Amphitrite.

With one hand holding the boy up in the air, she ducked her head down and with her free hand rummaged in the bag on the right side of her waist.

"Where is it? Where is it?" she muttered to herself, taking her eyes off of Percy in her search.

Taking a chance, Percy reached his right hand into his shirt to grasp the necklace or rather the sword like pendant on the end, wrapped it around his around his hand and slashed out. The strike opened a gash from the top of her forehead to the top of her right cheek. Passing through her eye but not harming it.

_Unfortunately._

__"AAAAARGH!" She yelled in pain.

The Queen tossed the boy to the ground, knocking the breath from his body, and kicked out. Her heel struck the boys face opening up a wound that ran from above his right eyebrow, across the bridge of his nose to under his left eye. This was followed up by a firm stomp on his small chest leaving him breathless, pinned and likely a few broken ribs.

"You will pay greatly for that you foul spawned brat." she hissed venomously.

Upon finding the bottle, she unceremoniously dumped it over the weakly struggling child. Instantly a greenish silver mist seemed to flow out of his skin and gather into a ball as large as a watermelon. It pulsed once, twice and then exploded sending a shockwave of mist through the New York night.

Amphitrite seemed to relax and smile while still keeping Percy pinned down. She grinned down at Percy like a shark before a struggling fish.

"Do you know what that was, little boy?" she mocked cooed, "That was the memories of everyone you love. Your mother will not know you, your sister will not hug you, your friends will not remember you. You. Are. Nothing!"

The Queen watched in glee as the child was at first confused until the penny dropped and a mix of fear, terror, sorrow, grief, rage and finally resignation crossed his features.

_And now for the final touch, _she thought.

"And now I'm going to send you far, far away so they can never get them back," she continued in a babyish voice, whilst making several gestures with her left hand to create the second surprise.

A black oval opening soon appeared in the air surrounded by coruscating green lightning. Leaning down, the Bitch of the Sea grasped the child by the throat once more and held him near the portal.

"Any last words, brat?" she asked mockingly.

Percy was silent for a moment, his head hanging, until it snapped up to look at her with a face of such hardened fury that even she felt unease.

"I will find a way back. I will find a way back and hunt you and kill you for what you have done, not to me but to my family. That. Is. A. Promise!"

So saying, Percy lifted his knees to his chest and kicked out against the Queen, causing her to fall sprawling on her back but also launch him into the portal. It flared for a moment before vanishing as if it was never there.

The Queen of the Seas lay on her rump staring at where the portal had been, the boys last words ringing in her mind causing her great trepidation before she shakily dismissed it as the fanciful words of a stupid child.

"Stupid Brat," she muttered before she vanished on the breeze letting the family keep sleeping, not knowing that they were missing a cornerstone of their lives that would not reappear for long time.

_If ever._

* * *

_Fuyuki City_

_Japan_

_Universe 616_

_April 6, 1998_

_8:30 pm_

The boy reappeared out of the portal in a different place, in a different country, in an alley, in his pajamas.

_And the world was filled with fire._

He staggered onward, ignoring the cries for help he could not understand, disregarding the still burning corpses in his path, not seeing crumbling the buildings crush those who prayed for a miracle.

He staggered on.

With every step he took, he sacrificed another part of himself to keep moving, dreams, hopes, feelings...

_Memories._

Until there was nothing left for him trade for another portion of life. Reaching the end of his life, he fell down, closed his eyes and waited.

He didn't know how long he waited until he started feel strangely better. He opened his eyes and saw, backlit by a golden glow, a man crying tears with eyes full of some sort of desperate happiness. Still tired, the boy now without even a name for himself, closed his eyes again. His final thoughts before he drifted to an exhausted sleep were...

_I wish I could be that happy._

_Well folks, how do like this idea for a story? I am a big fan of PJ F:SN and Campione! and it is my first time at writing. So I thought what the heck. Have a go. The campione bits will be few and probably limited to only a few titles (nudge nudge wink wink). Also the F:SN will be heavily AU and take ideas from a few different F:SN stories. Percy is now shirou and certain powers will increase and decrease so expect a few curve balls. FSN will be shown in flashbacks rather than in big lead ups. Andromeda is percy in PJ so some changes will be made there. (like some damn good characters not dying). Please review kindly. Flamers will be ignored. Cheers_

_kujikiri21_


	2. The Sword returns to the Waves

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own PJ or FSN

_Fuyuki City_

_Japan_

_Universe 616_

_December 19, 2009_

_3 months Post 5th Holy Grail War/ Last Grail War_

_11:45pm_

The young man stood atop of Mount Enzou, among the collapsed ruins of Ryuudou Temple, looking down upon the ruined district of Fuyuki with eyes filled with sorrow on what he had wrought here. But not regret. _Never _regret.

"So this is where you're hiding, onii-chan," spoke a voice from behind him. Its tone soft and sympathetic.

The young man turned to the owner. His messy black hair swaying in the brisk winter breeze, dark crimson trenchcoat turning to follow his solid six and a half foot frame and his almost metallic green eyes focused firmly on the speaker.

"I am hardly hiding, Ilya," he spoke. His voice firm, deep and with a hint of amused reproach.

The now identified Ilya, also known as Ilyasveil von Einzbern, swept her long white hair back behind her childish doll-like body as she looked at the young man. Her scarlet eyes piercing his own.

"Well you certainly didn't tell anyone where you were going and when you would be back, Shirou," she reproved.

Shirou turned back to the sight of the destroyed city.

"I just wanted to get things in perspective," he sighed.

"Can you believe it has been three months. Three months since the end of yet another three month long war. Hidden from the eyes of men in a city cut off from outside contact, a free for all between over 50 Heroic Spirits and their partners. All for a wish they would never get. All for the amusement of a now destroyed deity and a golden tyrant. All because the deity was losing his access to the the world through the Grail and wanted to leave his last piece of spite. The end result being nothing more than a ruined city, an immense loss of lives and a land cursed to be little more than a graveyard for those bodies that had _been CONSUMED __**BY THE MONSTERS OF THIS**_** WAR.**" His voice warped and rose as reached the end of his rant and brought a fist down on a piece of still standing wall that shattered upon contact. Seeing Ilya flinch slightly at his actions and words, Shirou took a deep calming breath.

"It is nothing but a sick joke" he finished bitterly.

Ilya looked at her brother with concern. She knew he took it hard that he couldn't save everyone here. Even the vaunted [Second Magus Killer], the [Strongest Steel], he who crossed the world with his swords leading the way was anguished at what happened. Even with all the experience he had walking with their father Kiritsugu after the 4th War, even with all the power he had to make the Church, Dead Apostle Ancestors and the Association itself give him a wide berth, even with the understanding that he could not save everyone. It still tore away at his soul. Saving people was second only to one thing in his life, his family. If he would kill one to save another, he would destroy Heaven itself, despite the consequences at large, to save his family.

"I agree. It is a very sick joke." a soft voice spoke, surprising the homunculus but Shirou didn't even twitch.

"I was wondering when you would appear... Zelretch." Shirou said calmly turning to eye his sometime mentor and user of the Kaleidoscope.

_Old _was the first thought that came to both sibling's minds as they looked at him. The usual wild humour was absent in his solemn red eyes and his tall frame seemed bowed and shrunken under the weight of the formal coat he wore. It seemed as if a brisk wind would make him fall, never to rise again.

"What brings you here Marshall?" questioned Shirou as he reached to rub the hollow of his right shoulder and the scar there. A parting and lingering _gift _from a Dead Apostle Ancestor he had slain. A gift which twisted his existence slightly towards one of Apostles. Thankfully he was barely touched. Only a leaning towards the night, small instincts and a liking for rare meat seemed to be left. Except in dire circumstances.

"I just finished my investigations into the phenomena you have been experiencing." Zelretch answered, striding toward the man to stand alongside him to also view the remains of the city.

Shirou frowned to himself, brows furrowed. Recently his magecraft had been slightly off. Whenever he had enacted his Mysteries he had felt Gaia respond. Normally this would be of no concern as all Mysteries enacted by any magus would eventually by rejected by Gaia. However, his had, for the last six weeks or so, seemed to almost be _specifically _targeted. To the point that the spells enacted lasted less than minute in comparison to lasting many hours or days in some cases. He had been using work arounds to avoid the problem but it seemed Gaia had learned and crushed those aswell, by which time he knew something was up and had contacted Zelretch.

"Am I going to like the news you bring?" he asked the fanged man warily. He hugged his sister to him gently, seeking comfort. Ilya gladly gave it with her own embrace. Her hands around his thighs and face buried into the top of his stomach.

"No." Zelretch answered bluntly, his sorrowful eyes looking into the swordsman's own unflinchingly.

"The reason your spells are breaking down is because Gaia is _rejecting _you."

Puzzled, Shirou raised an eyebrow in question.

Zelretch continued, "It seems that your existence is not native to this dimension. Not just reality, but _dimension,"_

__The brother and sister pair looked at him utterly shocked at this bombshell. Ilya recovered slightly, a testament to her maggus training, and asked,

"What do you mean dimension?"

"Realities are simple to understand. A reality is the difference between a man going left and a man going right. That slight change is all that is needed for a reality to exist. Due to the small differences this is what allows me to shift beings and objects between realities without getting bitchslapped by the Counterforce or Gaia. Dimensions are a different kettle of fish entirely. The differences may seem small on the outside from Gaia's perspective initially. Human dominant, declining magic ecetera ecetera However the difference lies beneath the surface, like the iceberg you don't see. The fundamental laws of how the world functions. Gravity, evolution, creation of souls aand things of that nature." Zelretch explained to a progressively more stunned pair.

"The _problem," _he stressed, "is that Gaia is treating you as a foreign body and trying to burn you out of her system. The only reason you have yet to cease to exist is because of your reality marble which places your thinking in an alien line og thought thus making it hard for her to directly target you. If you fully manifest your marble now, however, she would crush you from existence with zero warning."

Shirou embraced Ilya tightly, feeling her tears roll down her face through his shirt. Crying, because her brother was death row by the planet herself. Face hardening, he looked directly at Zelretch, grim determination lining his features and asked for solutions.

Zelretch sighed, " The only way for you to live, is to leave. Return to your home dimension and cut your ties here. I can do this right here, right now. If you don't, I would give you maybe a week, two at the outside, before she crushed you."

"I can't just abandon my sister," Shirou growled.

"And you won't be," Zelretch interupted, "I can easily send her with you and alter her dimensional signature so that it is the same as yours thus allowing her to exist there. The reason you were not destroyed when you came here by whatever means, is that your body passed through the nexus of dimensions which scrambled your signature. As you got older though it has begun to wear off thus leading to this situation."

Shirou was silent for a moment before he knelt in front of his sister and looked her in the eye. Tears were still trickling down her face causing a twinge in his heart. Gently his rubbed his thumbs along her cheeks, wiping away the tears and smiled softly and sadly at her.

"What do you think, Ilya? Want to go on another adventure?" He asked.

"We have nothing here. Our Home was destroyed, Sakura and Rin and Taiga are dead, all our knowledge and objects we own are in the sheath." She answered before tremulously smiling at her brother before finishing.

"My answer is yes."

Standing tall and gripping Ilya's right hand in his left, the man who could slay Servants, the man who was both praised and reviled, the man who was called the [King of the End] and the [Hero of the New Age] nodded tightly to the Old Man of the Jewels.

"Do it." he said firmly.

Without another word, Zelretch passed his hand over a space in the air which oddly enough created a black portal surrounded by green lightning which seemed oddly familiar to the young man.

Striding in step the siblings walked forward and as they pass Zelretch, he briefly touched Ilya with a murmured word causing her to glow briefly. Without slowing they walked calmly into the portal which snapped shut after they passed.

Zelretch looked at the now empty air and murmured into the winter breeze before disappearing with a rainbow light.

"Fare thee well, Warrior. You will be missed."

* * *

_New York City_

_America_

_Origin Verse_

_December 20, 2009_

_12:00am_

__The portal spat them out in an alley on Broadway. Not that they knew that at the moment. Picking themselves off the ground and looking around, Ilya asked the obvious question.

"Where are we?"

* * *

_And that ends this chapter. Hope you like the explanation. sorry if it is a bit rushed but I wanted to get to he interaction between someone raised in FSN and the current world of Percy/Shirou's birth. Monsters beware, someone worse than Artemis stalks the night. Please review, Peace out._

_kujikiri21_


	3. Dancing with the Snow Fairy

Well guys thanks for the reviews. They were appreciated. To Dragonskyt, I will try to make the chapters longer but no promises. As for plot, lets just say that PercyShirou stay and return has consequences aside from Roman revelations. As for shirou having saber, yes he did but the nature of his abilities at the time allowed him to fight alongside rather than being a mana battery. Ilya also had Berserker which will have some aftereffects in PJ Land. So on with the show.

Chapter 2

Dancing with the Snow Fairy

Goode High School  
New York  
January 24, 2010  
8:15am

A mid-winter breeze gusted through the front yard of the high school, causing the students who had just stepped off the bus to shiver with cold and hasten to the entrance hall of the building and the heating system contained therein. The last two to step of the vehicle were a beautiful young woman of perhaps sixteen with a sun darkened complexion, mesmerizing green eyes, hair the glittered like a flame even in the weak winter sun. She was also above average in height and built like a swimmer, long and lithe. Standing next to her, the curly brown haired boy with the crutches same almost plain in comparison. The girl drew many an eye from the red blooded male populace.

Pity she batted for the other team.

"Do you really have to attend this year Grover?" asked the woman of her companion.

Grover sighed. "It was the decision of the Cloven Elders to ensure all young satyrs acting as searchers for half-bloods had a good grounding in the ways of the mortal world and as such must attend a complete scholastic education within a certain time frame. With all that has been happening over the years I had not been able to attend a final year of High School. So I chose to do it here, Andromeda." He explained.

"What was the other option?" She asked.

"The worst torment possible at camp." He said firmly.

"Mr. D's manslave." Andromeda spoke dryly, entering the warm halls.

"Bingo." Grover replied just as dryly as they walked unhurriedly towards their English class.

Andromeda laughed softly to herself as she took her seat in class.

'I'm honestly unsure which is the worst option.'

* * *

"Now class, before we get started today I would like to inform you that we will be receiving a new student," said Mrs Gibson the rather frumpy looking English Teacher.

This caused a stir amongst the class. It was quite odd for a student to join this late in the year.

"If all goes well then she will graduate with you all at the end of this year." she continued before walking to the door and opening it slightly and saying kindly "You can come in now dear."

Stepping back Mrs Gibson allowed the new student to come through the door. The class craned their necks to see the noob. Andromeda was no different.

_Cute _was the collective thought running through their still sleepy minds. Wearing a white blouse and a purple ribbon collar with a dark blue knee length skirt was a exetremely short, to the point of looking like not even a teenager, snow white haired girl within elfin features and gleaming red eyes.

The eyes set Andromeda on edge, thinking she was a monster, until she looked closer and relaxed at not seeing the feral gleam hat most monsters had.

Standing in front of the class the feylike girl bowed and spoke in a soft voice,

"My name is Ilyasveil von Einzbern. Please treat me kindly." Her voice was like the melody of windchimes in the breeze.

"Thank you, young lady. Now as she is you I will ask one of you to help her out and show her around just for the week." said the teacher before her usually placid face frowned, "I will also inform you now that any mean spirited mockery or teasing her due to her appearance will be met with severe punishment. So are there any volunteers to be her companion?" she continued, her eyes drifting around the room.

Grover shifted slightly in his seat, reaching up to rub his nose, which had filled with a strong scent of power. This caused the teacher to lock her attention upon him.

"Mr. Underwood, if you could please aid Miss Einzbern for this week it would be appreciated." she spoke calmly.

Grover started slightly at being called out and stammered out, "Ummm, iiif-f-f-f you are s-s-sure Mrs Gibson." sweat beaded down his brow cluing in the sometimes oblivious child of Poseidon that Gover sensed something she didn't.

"Great. If you could please take a seat next to Mr. Underwood, young lady, we will get this classed back to studying Macbeth." Mrs Gibson directed.

Without another word Ilyasviel walked lightly to her directed seat and pulled out her notebook and utensils, ready to learn about the works of the bard.

* * *

English class had ended and recess was now n session. Fortunately for a now curious Andromeda, Ilyasveil was called away to the principal's office to finish filling out some class sign up forms, so Andromeda could now question Grover on his nervous actions throughout English.

"Anything happening, G-man?" she asked worriedly of Grover, who was leaning against a wall in the cafeteria, head down, shaking and taking deep breaths. Something seemed to have really affected him.

Grover looked up at his friend. "That girl is not normal." he said with conviction.

"The raw power she had rolling off her was ridiculous."

Andromeda raised an eyebrow.

"Is she a half-blood?" asking the obvious question.

"Baaaah-ha-ha-ha," Grover laughed wildly, "With the amount of power she had I wouldn't be surprised if she was a god."

Andromeda (call me Anne) Pensilthea Jackson's eyes widened until they seemed to rival silver dollars in size. Her hands gripped her goatish friends shoulders and looked directly into his slightly wild eyes.

"Are you sure?" she asked urgently.

Grover nodded his head like a bobble doll.

Anne sighed with frustration.

"The monsters will be coming in droves as soon as she leaves the school premises." she said facepalming and rubbing her temples. She looked at Grover again seeing that he was calming down.

"Invite her to hangout with us after school, I have an appointment up at Olympus with the Council today in regards to the monster clean up after the Titanomachy. Annabeth will also be there with reports into how far along the reconstruction of Olympus is," she said, her voice softening with affection at the mention of her partner before hardening again into a voice which lead the defence of Olympus," we will take care of matters there and express her to camp."

Grover blinked.

"Isn't this a bit much?" he questioned.

"No," she said firmly, iron in her voice, "I think it is just enough."

"Alright," Grover said, resignedly, "I'll do it but don't be surprised if Zeus sends his Master Bolt at your arse for bringing her in."

"Don't worry G," she assured her friend, "I have it all under control."

She pretended not to hear the muttered 'that's what I'm afraid of.'

* * *

The school day couldn't end quicker for Grover and Anne.

The new student showed exemplary scholastic qualities, to the point of rivalling any child of Athena. Save for maybe Annabeth, though they admitted they were biased in their opinion of her. However when PE rolled around she gave a note to the hirsute Ms Jennings that excused her from it. There were quite a few grumbles from the more diva-like crowd about that. Something along the lines of her not having to look sweaty and horrible or breaking a nail were overheard. Which earned everyone ten extra laps.

Needless to say they weren't popular for the rest of the week.

During lunch Grover had asked if she would like to hang around after. She seemed pleasently surprised at being asked and said she would have to talk to her big brother to make sure it was okay. When asked why she smiled sadly and wryly.

"Our parents passed away years ago so he is now my guardian. As such he is very overprotective. At the last school I attended I had a bit of a bullying problem. The next day the offenders were found upside down, naked, from the main school entrance like piñatas with the words 'Baseball Bat Strength Tester' painted on their backs and chests with a wicker basket filled with baseball bats in the middle of them."

They didn't ask anymore questions after that.

Ilya (as she insisted they call her) got back to them during last period and said it was no problem. Glad that they wouldn't have to drag her to Olympus unwillingly, Grover and Anne relaxed a bit.

When the final bell rang, the now group of three collected their bags walked out into the brisk afternoon breeze and down the street to the public bus stop that could take them to the Empire State Building. Chatting as they did so the two campers were surprised that she had never seen the sights of New York.

"It's my first time in New York so I had never seen the place. It was rather abrupt move that we had to make so we barely had time to scratch ourselves before we came here. Luckily Shirou was able to find work very quickly so we are good on that front." she explained.

"Your brother's name is Shirou?" Anne asked curiously as they absently paid the bus driver and took a seat in the rather cramped bus.

"Yes. Shirou Emiya. The best brother in the world and an excellent cook." Ilya gushed.

"Why the different name?" questioned Grover.

Ilya grimaced slightly, "It's complicated." she said in an obvious deflection.

Anne and Grover looked at each other and let it pass.

They got off the Bus about three blocks from the entrance to Olympus. They started walking with Anne slightly behind Grover and Ilya seeing as she was the tallest of the three. About a block and a half away Grover started twitching causing Anne to swiftly look around for anything out of place. She saw the wide berth all the other pedestrians were giving them to the point of making a fighting circle. Worried, she quickly grabbed he shoulders of the pair in front her and brought them to a halt. The pair looked around at hat motion. Grover quickly understood what was happening and prepared to fight, reaching into his pockets in synch with Anne but they didn't draw their weapons yet. Ilya, however, surprised them by seeming to understand the situation and slip into a stance that seemed to allow for maximum movement.

They didn't have to wait long for the danger to manifest. Leaping out of the crowd, who didn't even seem to notice, came three Laistrygonians. They didn't say a word but charged ahead, jaws slavering with the thought of half-blood meat for dinner after they had tenderized them with their bronze clubs.

At an unspoken signal, Grover leapt towards the one on the right whilst puling two celestial bronze daggers from his pockets. Ducking and rolling under the sweeping club he then stabbed the cannibal deeply in the stomach, causing it to hunch over. Then as he swiftly rose to his hooves he lashed out with the other dagger, slitting its throat and causing golden dust to fall around then turned toward Ilya to see if she was okay.

Meanwhile, Anne had leapt for the two on the left. As she rushed them she swung for the throat of he front one but his companion had pushed him aside in haste to reach Anne and strike missed both. The front one charged on heading for Ilya causing Anne to panic. The one who was behind caught her off balance from the stroke and knocked them both to the ground. They struggled on pavement for a moment before Anne managed to knee him in the family jewels causing him to roll off her and clutch himself in agony.

Curse of Achilles skin plus contact with the family jewels equals pure Tartarus.

Anne didn't waste time and rolled to her feet and stabbed him through the throat with Anaklusmos. Once more dust fell and she turned toward Ilya.

Both Grover and Anne were shocked at what they saw. Ilya was standing calm yet tense, looking directly into the eyes of the giant. His club was upraised ready to dash her greymatter upon the pavement but was frozen still. Like a statue. Only its wild rolling eyes belied that fact.

Not questioning Ilya's gift Anne swept the Laistrygonian's head from its shoulders. As the dust fell Ilya seemed to droop in tiredness her face now showing strain. Grover quickly caught her before she dropped.

"How-?" Grover asked before being interrupted by Anne.

"No time. Just carry her. We will sort this out on Olympus." She commanded.

Nodding, Grover swept a now sleeping Ilya into his arms and with his friend jogged the rest way to Olympus. When they reached the elevator a quick conversation involving a sword to the neck and much stammering allowed Grover and his burden to come with Anne.

Whilst the elevator traveled upward the only thoughts running through the friends' minds was

_Who is she?_

* * *

As she walked through the streets of Olympus, its residents quickly moved out of her way as they glimpsed her hardened face with the satyr carrying someone in his arms following behind her.

Not many were stupid to impede the path of someone who had faced titans one on one and crushed them beneath her foot. At least that was the rumour.

The party made good time to reach the great bronze doors that were the entrance to the Throne Room. Without pausing she reached out and pushed the doors open wide and strode in. As she did she noticed the council was already in session. All the Olympians were there, even Hades and Hestia listening to the reports from the child of Athena in front of them.

Turning at the interruption, the King of the Gods bellowed out "Who dares-?"

"Lord Zeus," Anne spoke quickly, halting the King's words, "Pardon my intrusion but something important came up."

Slightly startled at the respect shown to him by one of the most impudent demigods he had met and mollified at the apology, Zeus settled back.

"And what is so important that you willingly interrupted a council meeting without permission?" the Lord of the Sky said, an eyebrow risen in question as though doubting the wisdom of her doing so.

Taking a deep breath she addressed the council as a whole.

"If you lords and ladies could please extend your senses to the girl in Grover's arms I think you will understand my reasons." she spoke.

Frowning at the cryptic request they none the less did so.

The first to react was Apollo who leapt to his feet with a shout of "Styx!" and vanished and reappeared next to Grover, hastily grabbed the girl from the satyr's arms, lat her gently on the ground and hovered his now glowing over her body. Obviously he was attempting to heal whatever damage Ilya had.

The rest of the council was in an uproar sensing the power she had contained in her body and the alien nature of it. Finally Zeus summoned his bolt and let it roar thus silencing the body that he ruled.

"Take your seats!" he thundered. As they did so except Apollo who still knelt at the odd girls side, still healing, Zeus turned to the instigator of this mess.

"Explain!" he commanded with all the weight of the authority he had obtained over the millenia.

Nodding, Anne quickly explained what she knew and viewed over the course of the day.

Silence fell over the council as they mulled over the information presented broken only by the muted hum created by Apollo with his healing.

The Queen of Heaven finally shook herself and questioned Apollo.

"What can you tell us about the child," she spoke softly.

Apollo glanced up briefly before returning his attention to Ilya. When he spoke it with a seriousness he had only rarely exhibited before and quite unlike his general ditzy self.

"I can tell you that she has been mystically tampered with while in the womb, seeming to allow her hold more of this power she has at the cost of stunting her growth and shortening her lifespan to less than two decades. In addition it seems that this power when used also causes stress to the body. Which is probably why she dropped after halting the monster." His voice was clinical with an undertone of rage which was mirrored in the faces of many of the Olympians. Even Ares looked pissed at this.

"However, someone seems to have taken all the steps he can to correct this. I can verify that it was not one of the people who originally did this. Possibly her brother considering the different names it would not be unlikely that he was adopted and when he saw her condition attempted to aid her." he said sighing as his hands stopped glowing, stood up and walked back to his throne to slump back into it. Artemis in an unusual reached out and rubbed his hand in comfort causing him to briefly grin at her.

"And what makes you think that the brother could do this?" Athena queried.

Apollo spoke in a resigned tone.

"Because that snowflake necklace she has is an enchanted item, recently made. It allows for remote physical monitoring like heartbeat, blood pressure ecetera." he said before pausing as a rushing sound filled the air of the Throne Room causing everyone to stiffen in preparation for an attack and continued in a subdued voice as a ruddy red light tinted with green formed next to the child.

"And emergency teleportation to the wearers location."

The light grew into a human shape quickly with a final flare causing all to flinch. When they focused again they saw a red coated figure with a hood pulled up crouched over the child obviously checking her health.

Zeus stood from his throne, Master Bolt in hand as he demanded in a loud voice that shook the room.

"WHO ARE YOU?"

Turning toward them everyone saw the green eyes that seemed slightly familiar as they observed the assembled might of Olympus as if he were a lion studying its prey. However the being relaxed and bowed to them in acknowledgement and spoke in a humble tone.

"My name is Shirou Emiya. Known by my titles as the [Strongest Steel], [King of the End], [Hero of the New Age] and the [Golden Asura]. All of which were given by my enemies who now lie dead."

At the end of his speech, he reached up and lowered the hood of his coat. Revealing to the Olympian Council a youth of his late teens with black hair that was peppered with white, tanned skin and sharp almost raptor like features that were lit by green eyes.

Green eyes that were like the sea. Eyes that were only seen in the faces of children of Poseidon.

Eyes widened around the council as the penny dropped.

All Tartarus broke loose.

* * *

_Well guys what do you think? Good chapter or what? Please review._


	4. The Ocean meets the Sword

Another chapter on the way. First up thank you all to the viewers who have reviewed so far. To answer some questions I am trying to make PercyShirou more like the Shirou from the wonderful fic God Slaying Blade Works. He has to put up a strong front to make sure he doesn't get beaten down. As for the prankster style he puts family ahead of everything now like a mix of true Percy and Heaven's Feel Shirou. He is however more hardened due to the nature of the AU Nasuverse and uses pranks and cooking to let off steam. The idiots just chose to mess with wrong person. As for Ilya being too trusting well lets just say she knew there were ulterior motives and decided to investigate. As for not sensing their nature, who says she didn't? Also PS does still have Avalon along with another sheath of his own make. As for Authorities, he won't have them as such instead his divinity has instead increased and broadened base Shirou's abilities to the point of it resembling an Authority which will be explained as the story moves on and just to be clear PS has only killed one true god and that was Angra Mainyu. Make of that what you will. Hope this clears things up. Now enjoy the show.

Chapter 3

The Ocean meets The Sword

Bedlam.

That was the only word that could describe the result of Shirou dropping his hood at the end of his speech.

The deities were loud as they reacted.

Zeus and Hades, faces twisted in combined shock and rage, turned towards their brother. Hera looked displeased yet intrigued. Artemis was disgusted and made it clear. Aphrodite raked her lustful gaze over the boy's body in approval. Ares snarled angrily at the existence of another sea spawn, still smarting from his defeat by Andromeda five years ago. Hestia was gazing at him sadly, sensing something different. Demeter was crying loudly that he had certainly eaten his cereal. Grover bleated loudly before trailing off into a dead faint. Dionysus merely grumbled along with Hephaestus. Athena was stoic yet wore her displeasure like a cloak. Hermes was only gaping like a fish.

It was however the actions of the others that drew Shirou's attention.

Apollo, of course, only nodded and sat quietly. Waiting patiently for the noise to die down knowing that there was more to come if the talk he had with the kid through the necklace was any indication. This contrasted greatly to his usual manner, thus showing that even he knew when to be serious.

The two women off to the side, one blonde and the other an auburn red, looked at him surprised for a moment before the blonde's eye started eyeing him clinically while the red head looked at him as if trying hard remember something. It did not escape his notice that the two gravitated towards each other in manner not uncommonly found in romantically involved couples.

The one who was obviously Poseidon, going by the Hawaiian shirt and the trident in his hand, gazed at him in disbelief, shock and yet there was hope for some reason. There was also a desperate hunger there that made him uncomfortable. Not that he showed it outwardly.

Still he sighed to himself, best interrupt before it gets even more out of hand.

"Trace on." he muttered before he traced a large gong and striker. He then raised the striker back and swung hard.

BONG!

The sound echoed around the room ceasing all other noise and causing several Olympians to hold their ears in pain. After several moments the ringing stopped and they all turned their attention to the source of the sound, who had since vanished the gong and was instead standing tall, arms crossed over his broad chest and foot tapping floor impatiently. His face was set in a glare as he looked at them, somehow making a few of them seem like children caught doing something they know they shouldn't.

"Are you quite finished with your rather... spirited... debate?" he asked sarcastically.

The Olympians shifted uncomfortably for a moment before regaining their dignity. Zeus then drew himself full not inconsiderable height and spoke with a regal tone.

"What Olympians do is not of your concern-" before being cut off by Shirou.

"It is my concern when my sister is involved!" He growled fiercely. His body was tensed ready to move at a moment of aggression.

"The kid's got a point." spoke Hephaestus. His steady gaze watching Shirou with a measure of respect at his actions thus far.

"A smart sea spawn? What is the world coming to?" sneered Athena. Her grey eyes piercing the sword incarnation's.

Shirou leaned back at her hostile words but looked puzzled for a moment. He then voiced the cause of his confusion directly to her.

"Why do you call me 'sea spawn'?" his tone indicating a puzzled curiosity.

That drew the rest of the council up and briefly anguish crossed the face of The Lord of the Sea.

"What she means kiddo," said Hermes, finally regaining his tongue, "is that your eyes and features are far too similar to Uncle P's for you to be anyone but a child of his. The body may be explained away and the face as well but the eyes." the messenger shook his head, "The eyes show your heritage as if it was shouted from the rooftops. No other being has eyes the same shade as that. It is Poseidon's and his children's defining feature, much like Athena's grey eyes, Ares' massive build and Aphrodite's physical beauty."

"Which means," Hades quickly spoke, eagerness to harm in every line of his body, as he looked at his oceanic brother, " that Poseidon broke the Oath twice."

"I seriously doubt," the [King of the End] spoke mockingly, "that I have divine blood in my veins."  
At that last remark eyebrows amongst the council climbed into their hairlines. Obviously they were missing something. Before they could comment anymore the object of their original interest began to stir on the floor where she lay. Shirou immediately knelt at her side, helping her sit up as shook the sleep from her mind. Her eyes sharpened quickly, looking around and instantly saw her brother.

"Shirou!" she yelled as she surged forward to hug him. It was gladly returned by the swordsman.

As they hugged, Shirou looked directly at Apollo, whose face was lit in a soft smile at the heart warming moment.

"You have my deepest gratitude, Lord Apollo." he said formally, "What you have done has no equal price in my eyes."

Apollo grinned at the praise he received before he replied.

"It was only my duty as a healer to help her if I could."

"Nevertheless, I can feel that the damage has been completely corrected and that she will live a complete life and even start physically maturing."

Artemis looked stunned at what the odd male had said and looked at her ofttimes goofy brother. His face was lined in satisfaction of a job well done. She decided then and there to treat her brother better.

Only a little bit.

Until he did something stupid.

Or sang a haiku.

Shirou continued on, "As an attempt in recompense, any child of yours, blessed by you or at your request will always find safety, shelter and aid in my home for as long as my line exists. In addition you have one non-negotiable favour that if it is within my power to grant, it will be done." he then paused and looked at the slightly stunned Sun God's eyes.

"Do you accept?"

Apollo then shook himself and stared at the two on the floor. The boy looked at him in pure gratefulness, practically begging him to accept. The girl stared at him with wide eyes shock , awe and hope all crowding her face that was almost painful to watch. He then looked at the boy -no, man- and nodded.

The young man nodded sharply and rose to his feet, gently pulling Ilya to her feet as well. He then returned to looking at the council as a whole.

"You believe that I am a demigod. I do not believe that I am. I may be new the the world behind the Mist but If being a child of Poseidon is any indication on what abilities I would develop then I would would fail that test abysmally." he stated.

"I have no control over water nor can I summon storms or earthquakes. My very nature is twisted against the sea." he paused for a moment before looking around the increasingly doubtful council and the increasing anguished face made by Poseidon before sighing and rubbing the diagonal scar on his face.

"That being said, you all have more experience than I do in these matters and I cannot deny that the resemblance is uncanny." He then looked directly at the Queen of Olympus.

"As the Goddess of Families, among other things, surely you can determine my parentage?"

The goddess nodded firmly and gestured sharply at him. He then began to glow that reddish green light he appeared out of.

"Anyone who glows the same colour within this room is of your immediate family. By immediate family I mean b father and mother by blood." Hera explained before frowning slightly, "And full blood siblings." she added.

It was with a great deal of surprise on his part that Ocean Lord began glowing but before any protest exploded from the council's combined lips, Andromeda also began glowing causing a gobsmacked expression to cross the face of most the council and their guests.

Poseidon finally couldn't help himself. Ever since the young man had lowered his hood he had been on the edge of his seat thinking that he was the child that was lost, taken, stolen from him. He only knew that he was not dead due to the pearl he linked with his son's life force when he was born. If it was white, he was alive. If it turned black, he would have passed on. The pearl had stayed white all these years. He leapt from his throne and bounded forwards toward his son. Even if he had a different name, even he was barely connected to the sea, even if he had another family. He was still his son.

Seeing the deity coming towards him, Shirou's old instincts from the Grail War and before erupted before he could stop himself.

Prana was channeled to his eyes which took on a metallic sheen that Poseidon only briefly glimpsed and caused him to slow.

That probably saved him from a world of hurt.

From the eyes the man before them, the council saw a silver flash fly, barely perceptible to them and not at all for Anne, Annabeth and the now awake Grover, which struck the floor in front of the Sea God's feet causing a loud boom, rising dust and a large slash mark to appear in the floor.

Everything halted at that display. Poseidon himself froze in midstep and looked in wonder and surprise at the result not caring that it had been aimed at him and was intended to cause him great harm. He sheepishly backed away before misting back to his throne already berating himself for acting in such a way toward someone who was clearly on edge.

Not the best impression he ever made.

Shirou sighed looking at the stunned assembly.  
"My apologies for destroying your property lords and ladies." He stated.

"My...sires... approach surprised me and I reacted out of instinct thinking he was a threat."

Zeus shook his head, wondering if all children of Poseidon existed to give him headaches and spoke in a dismissive manner.

"We will not judge you for your actions there as that is understandable. However your presence brings many questions to light." turning to his brother Zeus questioned him.

"How?"

Poseidon didn't pretend to misunderstand the question.

"He is the older twin brother of my daughter." he said proudly looking at Andromeda who was confused.

He sighed.

"I had thought him lost many years ago. When he was about six years old someone kidnapped him and in addition somehow was able to alter the memories of everyone not of full divine nature into thinking that he never existed. The only things I had to remember him by were my memories, his life pearl and blood from his bedroom floor that was shed when he fought the attacker. I sent many agents out to find traces of him, all to no avail." he finished.

Shirou seemed to be lost in thought at his sires words. A brief flash of memory of a red haired, green eyed woman with blood running down half her face back lit green coruscating and a portal of darkness and pure hate suddenly surged in his heart at the image. He blinked back to reality as his sister nudged him and he focused on the council. He looked at Poseidon.

"You couldn.t find me because I wasn't in this dimension." he stated bluntly, causing a collective stir before he went on, " What little I remember before the fire that destroyed memories was a portal of darkness surrounded by a green light and going through it."

Hermes looked shocked but corroborated Shirou's story with the comment,

"Although interdimensonal portals are extremely rare and dangerous what he described is a genuine portal. And that information isn't well known or written down."

"How did you get back?" Demeter said slightly taken aback.

Shirou grimaced slightly and answered.

"A friend on that world was a practitioner of dimensional magics. After over ten years there the world conciousness, a sort of sentient force of the natural order, finally noticed i was a foreign entity to the dimension and began taking actions to erase my existence. It was either I leave that place where the life I had built and reputation I earned was turned to ashes in the wind, except for my sister, and be crushed out of existence or gamble and return to this world of my birth for a fresh start for myself and my adopted sister." he laughed harshly, more of a bark than anything else causing a few in attendance to wince.  
"It was a one way trip and he cannot reach this place anymore." he finished.

Zeus looked critically at the man - for he couldn't really call him anything else - before him. He was tall and held himself ready to fight a moments notice even if seemed relaxed. The king noticed the green eyes kept roving the room, watching entrances and exits and always kept himself between the assembled deities and his sister. He also noticed the shadows of grief and anguish and grim determination shadowed in his newly discovered nephew's eyes. He frowned as he tried to remember when he last saw such behaviour. He blinked as it suddenly came to him.

War.

This boy had experienced war. True war not just the three day defence of Olympus that happened in the recent Titanomachy. The type of war where many met many for weeks, months or even years at a time. Where friends fell and did not get back up. Where friends became enemies by the turn of days. Where death, decay and blood filled the air with its fetid stench. Where on the battlefield, king and soldier bled the same red colour and the soaked earth turned the same.

This man had seen and experienced all this and more and came out of it alive. Maybe not unscathed or unchanged or, judging from his eyes, whole. But still alive and with all the power and experience granted by such a situation and coming out alive.

Along with PTSD.

That made him cautious. As a King he sometimes had make unpopular decisions in order to safeguard Olympus and its reign as a whole. Having such a strong individual ( and how could he be otherwise as a child of Poseidon much as he didn't want to admit it) with unknown abilities, loyalties and PTSD...

It would have been safer to slap Artemis' arse and say 'hey there baby wanna do the horizontal tang?'.

One idiot had actually done that and the fallout had been legendary.

His punishment by her had involved nudity, bungee ropes, a pommel horse, five sets of deer antlers (with the deer still attached) and copious amounts of tobasco sauce.

The male parts of the council still shuddered in remembrance.

He continued questioning the youthful demigod hoping to pin down his exact nature.

"When did you arrive here and what have done before now?"

Shirou answered smoothly, "December 20, 2009 at midnight. Before I was alerted to someone interfering with Ilya I have merely been getting the lay of the land, so to speak and have been getting our financial and living conditions sorted. I also have had some run ins with various monsters which surprised me as they almost all died out millenia ago with the disappearance or fading of the gods millennia ago." he again caused a stir at such an answer before he continued, " For the most part it was only a few cyclops, hellhounds, basilisks and two aethiopian drakons but I have had the misfortune of having to fight one very pissed catoblepas." he finished with a grimaced.  
The council winced collectively at that. A catoblepas' hide was almost as strong as the nemean lions and it was a lot stronger in muscle. Not a fun fight.

"Do you still have the hide?" Artemis asked curiously with a degree of respect at the males ability to slay such a creature.

"Yes and I have plans for it."

Zeus heard his answer and mulled it over. He looked at the others and raised an eyebrow silently in question. Apollo, Hestia, Poseidon, Demeter, Hephaestus, Aphrodite and Hermes all nodded. Ares, Dionysus and Hades all shook there heads. Athena, Artemis and Hera all indicated their neutrality.

"Very well. The council has decided that no movements will be made against you save if you against us. While we still don't have the full stories of yourselves - and make no mistake we will have them eventually - your actions here have proved that you can be granted a modicum of trust. In return, we require that you move to live in Camp Half-blood where you can be observed and monitored to ensure you are not a true danger to yourself or others. As the girl is not a demigod, special dispensation will be made to allow her to pass the borders where Apollo has offered to take her in. Failure to comply to these requests without reasonable excuse will result in you and your sister being declared as enemies of Olympus and you will hunted down as such. Do you understand my words and agree to them?"

Zeus had spoken with his full authority as King of Olympus and his voice echoed around the chamber.

Shirou looked directly into the electric blue eyes of the king. Their stares clashed as the room seemed to fall away to the two. The [King of the End] met the gaze of the [King of the Sky].

The answer was brief and simple.

"Yes."

The others in the chamber all breathed a sigh of relief as the tension they didn't know they had flowed out of them.

Zeus turned to his brother of the sea.

"Claim him. It is long overdue."

Nodding Poseidon pointed his trident at Shirou and a hologram of a green trident appeared above his head.

"It has been Determined. Hail, Perseus Hector Jackson also called Shirou Emiya, Son of Poseidon, God of the Seas, Stormbringer, Earthshaker, Father of Horses." he ritually declared.

Shirou, now Perseus, staggered by the knowledge of his own birth name.

Perseus Hector Jackson he thought while hugging Ilya. I kinda like it.

Well folks another one bites the dust. i hope you liked it. before anyone questions what exactly Shirou did with his eyes. Here you go

Mystic Eyes of Steel  
Noble Colour: Silver  
Effect: The Mystic Eyes of Steel were brought about due to his slight infection from the bite of a Dead Apostle Ancestor, his divine blood and his own abilities as a magus.  
Essentially at the lower levels it allows him to instinctively Structually Grasp anything within his sight which caused major headaches which would have been deadly strokes were it not for divinity due to information overload. When actively used however he is able imprint the nature of sword into the air itself and as a sword is made to cut and kill it essentially creates a sword has moves and cuts anything in its way. Backed by his own divinity it came even harm the likes of Servants and Mystical Beasts up to and including dragons and even Divine Spirits if he pumps enough power into it. It is even more impressive against actual flesh due to swords being used to kill beings rather that chop trees etc. It can also invest the nature of sword other inanimate objects which will allow to durable enough as a weapon. If was already a weapon however it gains an immense boost to being on par in durability with perhaps a D Rank Noble Phantasm.

Pretty broken yeah  
Please read and review.


	5. The Sword and the Fairy Through the Look

Hey folks thanks for all the reviews. First of all the pairing at this time is undetermined, however there will be some who will express interest. Of being ShirouPercy the expressions of interest will go right over his head. Feel free to send who you think will be a good match. Also if there are enough requests I may make a threesome but that will be as far as I will go. I like reading harem stories as much as the next red blooded male but I'm trying to make this a serious piece and harem mechanics are both insane and unbelievable. Poseidon will give PS a gift but it won't be for a while. He has his head full of weapons anyway so a physical one may be redundant at this time. Cue eerie foreshadowing. Hints of AU Nasuverse will be given in time with cameos from various important players in said verse. Still time to get on with the show.

Chapter 4

The Sword and Fairy Through the Looking Glass

Silver Apple Apartments  
New York  
January 30, 2010  
6:00am

Shirou took a last look around the place he and Ilya had called home for a little over a month. It was spotlessly clean and all the items they had brought to the home (which admittedly wasn't much) were packed in the car in the parking lot that would take the siblings to the camp. It surprised him slightly that it was driven by Argus of the Hundred Eyes before he shrugged and took it in stride.

It said something about his life that he was able to do this.

He closed and locked the front door for the final time and then dropped the key in the metal slot box next to the door as instructed by the super and walked down the hall towards the elevator. After he had gotten in he selected the parking lot and let his mind drift on the way down. Thinking of simpler times with his dad and how together they had managed to retrieve Ilya from the Einzberns.

Flashback

It was a frosty night in the Black Forest as two ghostly figures moved stealthily towards the Einzbern Castle.

One was clearly an adult male and was carrying himself wearily, as if a heavy weight was on his back but grimly kept holding it up somehow knowing that to drop it was to die. He kept a pistol drawn as he moved, his steps ghostly as he passed the various topiary animals whilst using others to keep his form out of the open.

The other figure contrasted the former being seeming to only be an early teenage male. His movements were smooth and lithe like a great cat that had decided to walk on two legs. At his hips were two cusped falchions hanging loose in their scabbards, ready to be drawn at a moments notice. One of his hands was always near one of the swords as he stopped to hide various times.

The figures finally reached their destination. A door choked with weeds and vines that was in clear disrepair. Nodding to his younger companion, the elder stepped back and let his son do his work.

Pulling out the sword on his left hip, he then lay it across his hands parallel to the ground and in front of the door. Concentrating, he channeled his prana into the blade which glowed a dim green and recited the aria.

"The winds of war come to all, and all who stand before it fall."

The blade was glowed brighter before the boy drew a breath and blew gently over it. The green glow became a scattered green glowing dust that flowed towards the door and as it touched the weeds and vines they seemed to dissolve into a dull dust that fell to the ground. When it reached the door it too seemed to dissolve leaving only a pile of wood dust and a yawning tunnel that seemed to run into the abyss of the earth.

Not wasting anytime the duo of father and son moved quickly into the tunnel. Hoping to reach her in time. Hoping to save her.

Just hoping.

End Flashback

The sound of the elevator chime brought him out of his memories. He got out and swiftly entered the carpark. Upon entering he saw the dusty red truck all loaded up and three people standing beside. Two were Ilya and Argus. The other was Andromeda.

He halted briefly before continuing on. The relationship between the twins was complicated to say the least. For all that they were twins, they were not raised that way. They were still very different people with very different beliefs and viewpoints.

It made for headaches for all concerned.

"Mornin', Anne" he called as he approached with a slightly plastic grin on his lips.

Anne nodded quickly in acknowledgement, still uncomfortable around him.

Sighing, Shirou turned to Argus and cheerfully saluted.

"We're ready to go, mate."

Argus silently nodded and gestured for everyone to get in. They all got in with Anne in the front with the two siblings behind.

Argus made good time in the quiet car. No one had spoken to try and break the awkward silence. As they approached the entrance to the camp though, Andromeda caught her twin's eyes with the rearview mirror.

"Get ready for a surprise and hold your breath," she suggested with amused anticipation colouring her tone.

Puzzled, the sibling pair ignored the advice and instead looked out the windows as the drove through the arch.

Like a mist burning off in the sun, the facade of a strawberry farm was stripped away to reveal a wonder. A lush green valley greeted them, with a great many cabins organized in the shape of what Shirou immediately noted as the greek letter Omega. Around it were various activity venues like a basketball court, climbing wall, archery range and an amphitheatre. However it was the big blue farmhouse off to side that drew his attention. As Argus drove towards it something niggled at his senses, a feeling of Mystery that most powerful beings of magic back in the dimension he was raised in gave off. He quickly tensed, ready for anything as they pulled up.

Obviously the sound of the truck attracted attention as the door to the farmhouse was opened and a middle aged man with bronze-brown curly hair and beard in a motorised wheelchair came out. His black eyes showed warmth as the exited the truck and grabbed their luggage.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood," he greeted, "I hope you enjoy your time here. I am Chiron the Activities Director."

The old centaur's keen eyes looked over the two that had caused a great stir amongst the Gods. The young looking girl with her white hair, red eyes and elfin looks made her look as if she had just stepped out of a fairytale. Her eyes however told a story of grief and triumph, floating happiness and soul crushing despair. As well as a certain ruthless practicality that made him nervous.

This is no girl child, he decided, This is a young woman whatever the form she wears.

His eyes then drifted to the young man. Dionysus had spoken of the man as if he there was something different about man's guarded green eyes certainly showed that. His body was also tensed yet relaxed, a contradiction that any competent warrior knew how to take. The son of Poseidon's stance however seemed as if it was his natural stance. A strong indication of a life filled with battle that told a thousand stories to the experienced centaur. He also picked up on the subtle signs of PTSD that Dionysus had mentioned he had observed during the Olympus meeting. One of the reasons the wine god had voted against his allowing to continue to exist. A demigod of the Big Three with PTSD was asking for a major fallout. The last time that happened it was a child of Zeus who participated in the Korean War, that caused Hurricane Tracy in Darwin, Australia.

All in all, Chiron mused as he motioned for them to come inside, someone to certainly watch carefully as his own gifts are still a mystery, save that they probably won't manifest in his father's domains.

Walking inside the Big House, they soon met Dionysus sitting at a table drinking a can of coke and reading a wine magazine. He looked up briefly to grunt a greeting before returning to his daydreams of good wine and scantily clad women. Opposite sat a young man of roughly seventeen with blood hair, blue eyes and a six foot tanned surfer like body.

"I would like you to meet Will Solace, head counsellor of Apollo cabin. Will, I would like to introduce you to Perseus Hector Jackson, child of Poseidon and twin to Andromeda." Chiron spoke as the now identified Will rose to his and held out his hand to shake. Shirou instead grasped the Apollo camper's inner forearm in a warriors grasp which was quickly returned. Appreciation lit the eyes of Will and Chiron at the unmentioned respect and trust shown at the gesture.

"Please call me Shirou." Shirou requested.

"No Problem-o." Will returned.

"And a new addition to your cabin at your father's request. Ilyasveil von Einzbern, adopted sister to Perseus."

"Nice to meet you kiddo." Will said teasingly, "Pops spoke in my dreams about you but he never mentioned you were so gosh darn cute." he ended with an extremely fake country accent, causing Ilya to blush and giggle.

"Call me Ilya," she chirped before bowing slightly. "Please treat me kindly."

"Now," Chiron said getting everyone's attention, " As this is your first day here you will be excused from activities to get settled in. Dinner will be when the conch horn blows so be there when it happens, until then your time is your own after you have stowed your luggage. Will has offered to give a tour to his new cabinmate and I have asked Andromeda to do the same for Perseus." seeming to rise out of the wheelchair, he grew tall and his lower body started shifting until it became that of a white palomino stallion, showing the newcomers that he was indeed Chiron, the trainer of heroes.

"Now if you will excuse me I have an archery class to teach in five minutes," With that said he trotted out the door to the archery fields, leaving a slightly awkward group behind.

Except for Mr.D, who ignored everything around him in favour of his magazine.

Will cleared his throat.

"Well kiddo lets go get you settled, yeah?" he said as he grinned at her.

Ilya seemed to squirm for a moment before looking at her brother questioningly. Shirou smiled at her and jerked her head in Will's diection. With a squeal she hugged Shirou crushingly for a moment before turning a grabbing Will's outstretched hand and practically dragged him behind her. Will's face at her reaction made Shirou want to either bust a gut in laughter or pray for his soul.

He compromised by doing both in his mind.

"Your sister seems to act a bit childish," his twin (and Shirou still couldn't believe that) spoke as they followed slowly behind the comedy act of Will and Ilya, already loaded down with their luggage as they walked towards Cabin Three.

"She had a rough childhood before my adopted father and myself were able to gain guardianship over her. The people, and I use that term in the loosest sense possible, who had her before that saw her as a means to an end, a tool, a disposable object. As long as she fulfilled their purpose, they didn't give a shit about her long term health." Shirou spoke angrily, memories of the experiments conducted on her and their intended purpose filling him with a cold fury even now, years after the one who did it were ashes in the wind, "This is simply her way of gaining back those years and I for one won't begrudge her that freedom."

Anne looked at the child in question as she seemed to skip around a pack laden Will and peer around at everything with a child-like wonder. It seemed almost incomprehensible that such an innocent person would go through such horrors and not come out jaded and scarred in both senses of the word.

Shirou noticed the look.

"Don't let her actions fool you. She is very intelligent and can be as practically ruthless and immeasurably cruel as the situation demands. She can and has killed people with the same compassion you would crush a mosquito biting you. As an enemy, she can be a creature out of nightmare able to break your mind and body before making you crush your own soul. As a friend, on the other hand, she would take the deathblow for you in a heartbeat."

Andromeda felt a slight chill down her spine at these words and looked at Ilya in a new light before a thought ran across her mind.

She turned and looked at Shirou as she walked.

"She knew what Grover and I were when we befriend her didn't she?" she inquired angrily, hurt at being used in such a manner.

Surpisingly, her twin shook his head as they reached Poseidon's cabin and entered. Dropping his bags on the bed she indicated, he started unpacking while Anne listened to his explanation from her place on her bed.

"No. Or at least not entirely. She knew there was something not quite human about the two of you and that was the closest lead we had on the magical community apart from the monsters I faced prior to that. Your offer was just to good too pass up." He explained as put away the last of his clothes and started on his various knick knacks.

Andromeda frowned slightly and admitted to herself that she probably would have done the same. A necessary evil as it were. She had her fill of those during the Titanomachy.

Shirou had finished by then before he turned, walked over and knelt in front of her, looking directly into her eyes.

"I can't imagine how hard it is to have a bombshell dropped on you that you have a twin that you should know inside and out but don't even remember. I don't have a crystal ball that can tell me how things will work out or even if they will. I am willing to give it a shot however," he gave a wry smile to the startled Andromeda, "If nothing else I could use the help to keep Ilya in line and explain certain female issues to her."

Andromeda giggled for a moment before smiling softly and stuck out her hand.

"Anne Jackson, daughter of Poseidon," she mock pompously introduced herself.

"Shirou Emiya, deflater of large egos," Shirou returned in good humour and rose with his twin to go tour the camp.  
The camp was buzzing by the time lunch rolled around.

A new child of the Big Three, a twin to the daughter of Poseidon and with an adopted sister to boot. The daughters of Aphrodite were wondering if the son's handsomeness equaled the daughter's beauty.

The campers got their first proper glimpse of him as he walked in beside his twin, his rolling chuckle filling the pavilion.

The single and some taken girls became slightly bothered at the man's physique that was emphasised by the skin tight shirt and shorts worn at camp along with black and peppered windswept hair and raptor like face containing the well known sea green eyes and an old scar running diagonally through the middle of his face, giving him a slightly dangerous air that had a few of the more worldly girls slightly damp

There was a sudden commotion at the Apollo table as odd girl that accompanied the cabin leader bounded over to the twins and leapt at the man who caught twirled her around with a laugh and hugged her before setting her down and rubbing her hair and shooing her back to the Apollo table with a laugh to her pouting face.

A few of the more senstive girls hearts melted at the sight of such sibling affection. Plans were mentally made to ensnare this prime piece of manly real estate.

That poor bastard.

Oblivious to the attentions and plans of the more dangerous gender, he calmly sat down followed his twin's lead in the godly offering. Though he included Zeus, Hera and Hades in his out of there respect for roles as rulers. Then he began eating.

He stopped for a moment before continuing to chew trying to understand how the dish was made. It was good but the odd ingredient cheated the taste by making it delicious. He supposed it was the famed ambrosia that Anne mentioned was mixed into most of the food. All in all it was pretty good. He thought he could do better though.

After lunch the twins joined Will and Ilya, who had become firm friends by then, at the archery range where Will taught sometimes. Already there was the Ares cabin.

Big, burly and obviously itching for a fight. As Will stepped up to begin instruction, one of them interrupted.

"Oi, Sun-Face! Who's the weird looking midget baby girl?" yelled a particularly brutish looking child of Ares. His grin was vicious.

Shirou stepped forward making the fool's grin fade slightly as he had to look up to meet Shirou's eyes. Which was rare and not something he liked.

"She would be my little sister who I don't tolerate insults toward." Shirou said coldly, letting the air fill with the menace that was his nature after walking uncountable battlefields. It seemed to grow heavy and everyone felt like there was a boulder resting on their shoulders, causing them to bow. Andromeda likened it to holding the sky - lite.

The brutish fool obviously knew danger when he saw it and grudgingly backed down, vowing silently to get him back.

Seeing that the rest were cowed, Will began a lesson that went surpisingly smooth.

Shirou stepped back and shook his head in exasperation.

There is always going to be idiots in the world, he thought, but do I always have to be the one that meets them?

Ruins in the Iraqi Desert  
Iraq  
January 30. 2010  
1:35pm New York Time.

It had been sleeping for so long.

It barely remembered its life.

Only the darkness of it's self remained.

But something made it stir. Something malicious. Something powerful.

Something familiar.

Before it returned to slumber it tried to reach for this feeling. To grasp a fleeting dream.

A dream of a world covered in blackened mud.

Well guys what do think. interesting or what? Please review.


	6. Sword and Spear Clash

Hey folks. Thanks for all the reviews. Just a few things to touch on. I won't say whom is waking up but I will say it is not Gaia. Also to Litewarior in regards to the girls reactions, they are daughters of Aphrodite plus Shirou's obliviousness plus my attempt at humour equals the result. Among my favourite authours are Third Fang who can do slapstick and ridiculous scenes very well while still maintaining a serious story. As for the cooking well it might FSN fic cliche but it won't get much of a mention in my fic. Enjoy the Show!

Chapter 5

Sword and Spear Clash

Camp Half-Blood  
New York  
January 30, 2010  
6:00pm

Dinner that night in the pavilion was quite lively. The air was filled with cheer and the food was excellent. Shirou smiled quietly at the general merry making and even more so as he watched Ilya charm the Apollo cabin. They had quickly taken to her and generally acted like siblings to her.

They missed that she could be the devil in disguise at times though.

He looked at his twin that was at the other end of Poseidon's table talking quietly and almost intimately with Annabeth who he learned was a daughter of Athena and was confirmed to be his twins girlfriend.

Shirou chuckled to himself at the thought of what fits the respective parents of the girls would have been like. The fly on the wall probably would have been killed by the first shout that passed their lips.

After dinner was taken away, Chiron stood up and stamped his forehoof on the stage that housed the staff table in an indication for quiet. It came almost instantly, showing the respect the campers held for their trainer.

"A few announcements to make. First please welcome our two new campers." He said before gesturing them to stand. As he and Ilya stood up, Chiron continued.

"Allow me to formally introduce Perseus Hector Jackson, who wishes to be known by Shirou Emiya, son of Poseidon. Also please make the acquaintance of Ilyasveil von Einzbern, guest of Apollo and adopted sister to Shirou."

A round of applause rang out from the tables for a time. As it died down, the old centaur made his next point.

"In a week the Hunters of Artemis will be making a visit here." Chiron grimaced slightly at the collective groaning, moaning and muttered curses.

"Please try to get along and show them a warm welcome."

Looking around, Shirou thought the only warm welcome they would receive here would be their own funeral pyre.  
"They will be here long enough for a Capture the Flag match, so this weeks match will be held on Wednesday to give you enough time to heal up and face them on the regularly scheduled day." Chiron finished, "Now is there anything else someone wishes to add?"

To everyone's surprise an Ares camper stood up. To Shirou's interest it was the brutish looking one he had forced to back down earlier today.

"Yeah, I do." he grunted.

Chiron blinked but recovered swiftly, "What is it that you wish to speak about, Harry?"

The now named Harry looked directly at Shirou with narrowed piggy like eyes.

"On the behalf of the Ares cabin, we wish to challenge the Poseidon cabin." he growled fiercely, his siblings and more importantly Clarisse nodding in agreement, smirks adorning their faces.

The pavilion stirred with the whispers of this, wondering what was going on. Chiron stepped forth until he was on the floor level.

"On what grounds do you do this Harry?" the centaur asked.

Andromeda had by this time stirred herself from shock and looked at her cabinmate who ignored her gaze, appearing intent on the words of the Ares camper.

"The only grounds that matter to a child of war. A desire to test his and our strength and put some manners to his name." Harry looked as if he truly meant that, which confused many.

"And Pops just wants a good old beatdown." Many that were confused were not anymore.

Chiron started to deny the request before Shirou cut him off.

"You have made the challenge, now I will make the rules." Shirou said firmly causing Harry to falter in his grin.

"It will be a battle of champions. A one on one battle. Each side chooses a representative who will then battle the other. It will take place in the dueling circle in the amphitheatre. It will be to either first heavy blood, submission or unconsciousness. As the challenger you may choose the weapons used and the time of the battle. Do you accept?"

The pavilion was silent as they waited for the now floundering Harry's verdict. After a moment he rallied and gave his answer.

"We accept. The duel will take place at lunch. The weapons will be melee only. Do you accept?" Harry spoke for forms sake. The camper knew this newbie wouldn't back out.

"I accept" was the simple answer given by Shirou before he stood from the table and swept out of the pavilion leaving a scrambling Andromeda trying to catch up and whispering pavilion.

Will looked at where the two twins had exited in consternation. The newest child of sea was headed for trouble and he honestly wasn't sure how his new friend would get out of it. A nudge in his side drew his attention to the fool's sister. Looking down down at her, hew saw that her face was relaxed and unworried.

"Don't worry, Will nii-chan," she chirped, "Shirou will be alright."

"Your kidding, right?" he questioned, " If he had just challenged Harry the Mouth I wouldn't be worried. But with the terms he set, he will be facing the arguably most skilled fighter in the camp. And she doesn't show mercy!" he finished with a high pitched tone.

To his confusion, Ilya just giggled and patted Will's hand as if trying to comfort a worried child.

"If that is true, be at the amphitheatre to watch tomorrow. I can guarantee the fight will be of great interest." she advised slyly, then rose from the table to go to the cabin.

A now curious Will was left at table thinking, along with those who had overheard the brief conversation, that tomorrow might not be a bloodbath after all.

At least, not in the War God's favour.

Mt Olympus  
New York  
January 30, 2010  
7:30pm

"Is there a reason for you to instigate this tussle, my son?" Zeus questioned Ares after having cornered him in one of the arenas, Athena at her father's side to give advice.

Ares scoffed. "The punk needs to be taken down a peg or three. Dozen." he growled.

"I won't deny he carried himself arrogantly-" Athen began to interject before her king cut her off.

"It wasn't arrogance," he said firmly, "What he showed was the correct amount of respect two kings show when they meet each other."

His children looked at him in shock. They had thought their father would have thrown a tantrum after the two strange mortals had left. Surprisingly he had only turned and asked Annabeth to continue with her reports. All of the council, save Poseidon, Hades and Hera, had looked at Zeus as if had suddenly been replaced by a pod person dressed in a hot pink and blinding orange tutu.

Obviously they had misread the situation.

Zeus explained further, "One of the prime tenets of the old monarchies was in dealing with other kings. Treat another king as your equal while he is in your camp, regardless of real strength. I don't do it as much among the other gods because we are family and things can be let slide because of it. But we were dealing with an almost complete stranger with an unknown amount of power and he made the first overtures when he spoke his titles, in a way warning us how treat the situation."  
Athena digested the information as Ares looked like his brain was cooking itself if his now red face was any indication. She saw what her father meant as she looked over the events again with a now impartial eye. She, reluctantly, agreed that the man did not show any disrespect but only the barest amount of respect. That of acknowledging their existence and little more. When he faced Zeus, however, he treated him well. He treated him as an equal.

Ares was growling in confusion and frustration now.

"Even if you want me to call it off, I can't ask my kids to do so without them looking like cowards." he snarled.

"And I won't ask you to." Zeus answered.

Athena's nimble mind saw where her father was going.

"You want this to be a test." she stated not asking.

"Yes. This child of Poseidon has abilities we do not know about or the limits of. We gave him a modicum of trust and thus safety at the meeting. Bringing that into question with our direct actions would stain our honour and probably shift him to slightly hostile. However we can take advantage of an already existing situation." The Olympian King spoke.

He then looked his muscular son in the eyes, "When he battles we will all watch him, see how operates, a warrior shows his nature in the way he fights. But judging by his strength we saw in the throne room your daughter may not have the edge to make him show it," Zeus rolled his eyes slightly at Ares' growl of offence at that comment before continuing, "So I want you to grant your blessing to her sometime during the fight."

Ares roared at that seeming insult, "I won't grant my blessing unless she fulfills the requirements, that you even ask this is fucking insulting. It is not something to handed out like concert tickets!"

"Relax brother," spoke the Goddess of Wisdom, "I am quite sure the sea spawn will be able to push Clarisse into enough rage for her to qualify."

Ares shuddered for a bit, still angry but reluctantly agreed that the boy may push his favoured daughter to that limit. He took a deep breath and nodded at his father in agreement.

"Good." Zeus spoke, " I expect that lunchtime tomorrow will be interesting."

If he only knew how much Zeus would not have tempted the Fates.

Camp Half-Blood  
New York  
January 31, 2010  
12:30pm

Shirou calmly made his way from the Poseidon cabin to amphitheatre for the challenge. Dressed in his red coat, combat boots, long leather pants and black chest plate, he cut an intimidating figure. When his height, build and manner were added to mix he became terrifying. As he walked his mind drifted back to reactions of his blood sister to the challenge.

Flashback

"What were you thinking?" She roared as they reached their cabin, "Scratch that. Were you even thinking at all?!"

"I believe I was," he spoke calmly, already turning down his bed ready for sleep.

Andromeda face twisted in anger and launched herself at him. He dodged the grab and quickly pinned her on her back on his bed. She struggled for a minute, surprised that her Stygian strength did not shift him, then stopped. He held her for a moment longer before he let go and stepped back when she sat up. It was then that she noticed her anxious expression. The same face Ilya showed whenever he stepped onto the battlefield.

His face softened before he sat next to her and pulled her into a hug, surprising them both.

"If I didn't answer that challenge then our enemies would think us weak. If they think us weak, then they will get bold. If they get bold, they will make a move. If they make a move then my sisters," he said stressing the last word which comforted her before going on, "will be in danger and I will not allow that."

Anne looked up at her brother at that. For the first time she saw the shadows in his eyes and the grim protectiveness that followed it. Except for the colour they looked like her mother's eyes. When she had married Gabe to protect her. When she charged the Minotaur in her first summer at camp.

When she was killed by a Dracaenae along with Paul when they protected an injured demigod that had been cut off from rest during the invasion.

Her heart grieved for a moment as she held her brother tightly before her eyes turned hard.

"I may like Clarisse as a friend, Brother, but please...Win."

She felt his chest rumble slightly before he picked her up with a squeak walked over to her bed and dropped her.

"I will do my best, ma'am." he said lightly as he returned to his bunk, lay down and drifted off almost instantly.

Andromeda followed suit with a slight smile on her lips and she slipped of into Morpheus' realm.

End Flashback

When he arrived at the arena, the majority of the camp was there along with who he assumed was his opponent.

A tall muscular woman with dirty blonde hair, brown eye and a fierce expression stood in the circle. She was dressed in a bronze chest plate, greaves and vambraces and combat boots and battle skirt with a helmet with a boar motif in the crook of her arm that held a spear that smelled to him like ozone, blood and reptile. Her shield was strapped to her left arm.

"Glad you finally decided to show up." she snarled, impatience and anger at his seeming disrespect to her lining her voice.

Shirou said nothing as he looked at her weapon. And information rushed into his mind.

The spear was named Maimer. A weapon directly born of the power of Ares. It had been held by the warrior Clarisse la Rue and by her hand had been used to destroy a powerful drakon with her own power and fathers blessing which had destroyed it, After the battle, Ares had then fused the pieces with one of his own weapons of power that he had used during the second Titanomachy to remake it. As such it carried the inherent property of a drakon slayer due to her deeds but due to the nature of the spear it granted the user, if they are of Ares line or had killed the previous owner in battle, a boost in physical parameters. Also the longer battle and the more blood spilled the greater the increase.

And the more mind was filled with a thirst for blood.

He then looked at Chiron, who was to referee the bout, effectively ignoring a now fuming daughter of the war god.

"Let's get this started." he said firmly.

Chiron subtlety winced at the now enraged Clarisse before nodding.

"This bout is to the first heavy blood, submission or unconsciousness. Any attempt at a killing blow will result in consequences. Do the fighters understand?" he declared.

The air seemed to spark as the two opponents looked at each other. One almost ready to blow in rage and the other calm as a still lake. Locking gazes, they tersely nodded.

"Take your marks." said Chiron, "Ready your weapons."

Clarisse jammed on her helmet and readied herself. Shirou swept his coat back, revealing two curved swords which he swiftly drew. One had a slight green tinge and the other a rusty red. Many in the audience were now raising eyebrows at the weapons, save for Ilya who was now grinning in anticipation.

On Olympus and various other divine places like Atlantis and the Hunters' camp many watched on.

"Fight!" the trainer of heroes boomed.

Clarisse burst forward at a frightening speed for a shield bash which Shirou danced away from, slightly surprised at the speed, before quickly darting at her side for a slash from his green blade. Clarisse swiftly countered bringing her shield around to block and spear thrust and the centre of his breastplate. Shifting his upper body allow the spear pass by him, his strike struck her shield with a resounding clang and enough force to shove her back several feet before she regained her balance. They both stopped for a moment, studying one another again. The first clash had been for both to test the waters. They knew their relative strengths now. The real battle then started as they charged each other again.

The audience in the camp and elsewhere was shocked at the skill shown by both combatants. They all knew Clarisse was skilled but the noob seemed just as good, if not better.

Some, however noticed how the man was fighting. It was a suicidal style. Deliberately leaving his vitals open for the enemy to strike and then countering it. It was a stupid style and yet it seemed to work. The wiser of the the few noted that an immense amount of experience was required to make it effective, risking his very life to achieve every skerrick of experience needed. It was truly frightening to think that someone had so little disregard for their own health to do this.

More clangs resounded as swords met shield, spear and armour. Clarisse was getting annoyed. The entire fight she had not even touched her opponent's body. He just kept dancing around her blows. Rage began to fill her mind, struck faster, stronger forcing the man begin backing away at the ferocity of the attacks. The style he used provoking her desire for blood like dangling meat just out of reach of a starving wolf. Her mind howled in anger.

Shirou grew worried at the increasing power of his opponent. He had tried to end it quickly without reinforcing, not wanting to give away a trump card to the gods as yet. But it was getting to the point that it was definitely needed. It seemed that demigods were closer to origin of human than he thought. Harkening back to the strength of the ancient days.

Then Shirou's luck grew worse.

A red aura was suddenly floating from the woman's body and his strikes were suddenly being turned aside. Clarisse then roared as her power increased exponentially as the Blessing of Ares filled her.

"Oh, Root damn it all!" he yelled as he was suddenly caught flat footed and struck by a swinging spear launching him several meters away into a roll. Unfortunately he had lost his weapons.

Clarisse now charged him as she now saw her chance. Her blood fogged mind still retaining enough thought to keep her between the man and his dropped weapons.

Shirou grimaced as he now noticed that he had to use one of his trump cards.

"Enkidu!" He roared calling forth That Which Chained The Bull Of Heaven.

To everyone's disbelief a chain manifested around Clarisse, holding her in place. As she started thrashing the red aura seemed to wane and disappear before it finally vanished.

Moving quickly, Shirou knocked the spear from her bound arms and quickly put her in a sleeper hold. Still struggling, she started to fade, her protests getting weaker and weaker. Then she finally slumped. Holding on for a brief moment more to ensure it wasn't a trick, he then set her down gently.  
Shirou looked around at the assembled and groaned at their shocked looks. Clicking his fingers, Enkidu shattered and vanished.

Chiron shook himself back to reality first.

"Winner, Shirou Emiya."

Shirou sighed as instead of applause whispering started.

The only easy day he thought wryly was yesterday.

Well folks what did you think. I mentioned Shirou was powerful but he wasn't going full out here and didn't use all his tricks. The Blessing and Maimer also mad things hell for himThe blessing all things that would intend harm to the blessed. The only way to get around while active would be for an unintended action to take them out ie a pillar falling on them that wasn't pushed at them with intent to harm. To all FSN purists I cheated a bit with Enkidu making able to seal divine abilities at the cost of heavy upkeep. CHeers and please review


	7. The Sword Rattles

Hey all. Thank you for the reviews. Litewarior I will try to watch my grammar and such but please be forgiving. Others he came from FSN AU and his abilities and better than original Shirou's thus he can obtain Enkidu as a traced weapon. For the specific differences wait for the revelations to come. As for length I will try but expect between 3000 and 4000 words to be the average, So enjoy this feature.

Chapter 6

Camp Half-Blood  
New York  
January 31, 2010  
9:00pm

Shirou let out a sigh of relief as collapsed into his bunk bed. After the duel with Clarisse he had been swamped with questions on his abilities. The cries of 'how did you/he do that?' were impossible to count.

Thankfully, he was able to dodge the questions by giving vague answers or ignoring the speakers entirely. What had him worried though was the expression on Chiron's face after the bout. While he had looked calm as the judge, right then he had looked like a cross between pale as a ghost and on the verge of having a apoplectic fit. Obviously he did not approve of his fighting style and had intended to read him the riot act just like every other sword instructor he had over the course of his life. But, by the grace of whatever deity looked out for him, he was able to quickly slip away to his next lesson on the canoe lake before the centaur could grab him.

Shirou had no desire to have a 'death by a stampeding centaur' inscribed on his gravestone.

The rest of the day had passed a bit more calmly. Evidently it had finally gotten through to everyone that he wouldn't answer any questions. Their irritation was visible but they held their piece.

Ares cabin, however, was now frothing at the mouth.

They saw what he did as a cheat to win the match and raved about it at dinner. Until Ilya had spoken coldly enough that everyone was taken aback at the words from the normally chipper child.

"The rules were made. Only melee weapons could be used. Nothing was said about summoning a weapon while already in the circle. I also bet your cabin leader kept a knife hidden on her just in case she lost her main weapons." She had growled, making the table shift uneasily.

"Don't whine about cheating just because my brother had some unusual tricks."

Shirou smiled to himself slightly as drifted of to sleep. His last thoughts were of his two sisters smiling at him in happiness that he had won.

Olympus  
New York  
January 31, 2010  
9:30pm

Hephaestus sat in his temple. The bellows of his forge, for once, silent as he contemplated what he saw in what was quickly becoming known as The Battle of Champions. He chuckled slightly while taking a swig his nectar. Ares' reaction to the outcome of the match had been hilarious.  
Last he heard, the war god was still sulking somewhere in the Olympian Gardens.

The smith's brow then furrowed as he remembered the end of the bout. The chain had manifested from nothing leading from the boys hand and coiling tightly around Clarisse.

That shouldn't have happened.

When the Ares Blessing is invoked the recipient became essentially untouchable in battle. Yet the kid was able to wrap a chain around the warrioress when it should have been turned aside. Then the more frightening thing happened.

The Blessing of Ares was removed.

Somehow that chain had been able to remove a divine blessing that was already activated and continually fed power by the war god. Ares had described what he had felt with shock and disbelief colouring his voice.

"I was still feeding her power but it was like it never reached her. Like it had reached a wall that it could not pass. As if it were blocked off."

Hephaestus stared into the banked embers of his forge, deep in thought. The chain was not something he had ever seen before. As the smith of the gods he was used to making enchanted objects and weapons. He knew how they felt, how they worked and, if broken, what it would take to repair them. Yet that chain he saw was outside his experience. It was only superficially like an enchanted item. It felt stronger, more powerful, older.

Heavier.

That chain was more than just metal and spells. To the smith, It felt more akin to Apollo's Sun, an amalgam of dreams and beliefs. Yet this was contradicted by the feel of metal and such he had felt from it at sight.

Many of the council who watched had believed he only had strong Mist abilities like those of Hecate's children. The wiser ones (Hephaestus included) thought this was only the tip of the iceberg in regards to the young warrior.

Hephaestus sighed and rose to his feet. Then gulped the rest of his nectar before limping off to bed. He would wait for things to be revealed over time. He would like to chat to the kid though.

He might have a few ideas for his forge.

Camp Half-Blood  
New York  
Monday, February 1, 2010  
11:00am

"Welcome to Archery." Chiron said, addressing the assembled class.

"My aim today is to at least make you able to hit the closest target," he ended this statement with an expasperated look at a sheepish looking Andromeda who stood next to a puzzled Shirou. The quiet snickers from all around, however, clued him in that his twin was far from the best of archers.

"Everyone please choose a bow and quiver from the racks and stand at one of the marks." Chiron continued.

Shirou followed as everyone as they swiftly chose their sets. Looking at them carefully, Shirou saw that they were not the best quality and weighed which one to choose. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his sister make to grab a black one with peeling at the string knocks. He quickly grasped her hand stopping her. Seeing her look of puzzlement, he shook his head and gave her a plainer brown one.

"This one will suit you better." He said.

Trusting her brother, Andromeda quickly grabbed it and a quiver and jogged off to her spot. Shirou quickly grasped another brown one and did the same. His mark was right next to hers.

It quickly became obvious that her archery was down right abysmal. Even with Chiron's coaching, she couldn't seem to maintain the concentration necessary to keep the correct stance that would launch the arrow properly. None of her arrows had managed to hit her target whereas the worst of the others at least had a handful.

Finally Shirou had had enough and tried a different approach. Placing his bow on his back he stood next to a frustrated Anne. Calling her attention, he then looked at her seriously.

"The secret to archery, lies not in the body, but in the mind and soul. When you line up to shoot next time, focus on the target. Picture a silver line moving from your heart to the target. Let your heartbeat pulse along the line and feel the beat of the target. Then, when they beat in synch, launch you arrow."

Andromeda looked puzzled at the advice but decided to try. Making sure she was in the right position, she then focused. She willed a silver line to connect herself to the target. As she did, she suddenly became aware of the world. She could feel the heartbeats of her friends beside her, hear wings of a bird in the woods behind the range. It was like she was blind to the world before in comparison what she perceived now. But she kept focused on her task. She felt/saw/heard the beat of the red aura of the target. It was stilted and slow like the flow of thick tree sap. She slowly breathed in time to it and heart slowed in turn. Moments that seemed like eternity passed until she saw the moment they beat in synch. She launched her arrow.

It flew straight, the air about it seeming to hum as she kept herself in synch with the target. When it struck it hit the bullseye with an almighty thump!

Everyone who was watching the shot felt their jaws drop at the me time. Their worst archer in the history of the camp had struck a bullseye. Several of them looked around for Titans that should be popping up to destroy the world.

Andromeda felt vague shock as she looked at the target. She then turned to her brother who had a satisfied look on his scarred visage. He smiled at her before taking the bow from her now limp hands.

"Like I said, It lies in the mind and soul. If someone aligns their soul's power with their mind's belief then the body can achieve wonders." he said chuckling before making his way towards lunch.

Camp Half-Blood  
New York  
Monday, February 1, 2010  
5:00pm

The shout was heard all across the camp.

"Oi! Wave-Pansy! I have a bone to pick with you!"

Shirou looked up from where he was resting beneath a tree with Ilya at his side and grimaced. It seemed Clarisse had finally gotten some of her confidence back.

Scowling, the leader of Ares Cabin marched toward him as he stayed seated.

"What can I do for you Clarisse?" he asked, the irritation he was feeling nowhere in his tone.

Finally stopping barely a foot in front of the one who defeated her, she glared down at him.

"I've got questions. You've got answers." she growled deeply, "And you had better give them to me."

Shirou seemed to think for a moment before gesturing for her take a seat on the ground. After Clarisse had, reluctantly, done so he spoke.

"What are your questions?" he monotoned as he gently shook his sister awake from her nap.

Clarisse shook her head in annoyance.

"Pretty much what everyone else is asking. What was that chain? How did you make it? How did it make me weak?" she said with ire at the last question, "But what I really want to know was what the flying fuck was up with your sword style?"

"So you noticed?" he asked.

Clarisse snorted. "Anyone with half a brain for battle noticed it. You deliberately left openings that could get you killed as traps for your opponent. That kind of style is suicidal."

"True." he answered, "But there is a reason I crafted that style."

Clarisse raised an eyebrow in question.

"In all my life," he began, hugging Ilya close to him "I have faced dozens upon dozens of enemies. Some were human shaped. Some were beasts. But they were all Monsters. Their strength in comparison to mine when I first started walking the warrior's path was as wide as the distance between the sea and the sky. They were faster, stronger, tougher and occasionally smarter than I was. I needed an edge when battle came to me. So I crafted this style. By leaving my vitals open I am able to anticipate where they will attack and counter them thus negating their advantage in physical prowess."

Clarisse interjected. "It is still suicidal though. One wrong move and those fake openings become a one way ticket to the Underworld."

"True but with my mindset, I just didn't care. Due to a trauma during my childhood I lost my memories and saw horrors unimaginable. This gave me an immense amount of survivor's guilt that let me believe that other's lives were worth more than my own. I have only recently begun to mitigate it. I don't believe I will ever get rid of it though."

Clarisse looked immensely disturbed at this revelation.

"Thats one of the reasons I lost wasn't it?" she said quietly, "When you fought, you fought as if nothing mattered. You were ready to pay the ferryman his coin without hesitation. Others would seek to preserve their lives instinctively but you don't."

Shirou chuckled grimly.

"The only fate that awaits those who take up the sword is their own death by it."

Ilya hugged her brother in comfort as the three quietly sat under the tree watching the sunset before dinner. It fittingly was a shade of blood red.

Ocean Palace  
Atlantis  
Monday February 1, 2010  
5:00pm

He had returned. The damned boy had returned.

These thoughts and more ran through the Sea Queen's minds.

She raged in her private suite at the impossibility of it all. Her scar given by the brat throbbed with anger and well hidden fear as she remembered his last words to her.

"I will find a way back. I will find a way back and hunt you and kill you for what you have done, not to me but to my family. That. Is. A. Promise!"

She still sometime shuddered at that memory, much to her own disgust.

"Raging about evidence of your loving husband's infidelity I see." an amused spoke causing her to startle and turn.

There in the shadows of the room stood an odd man. Dark of hair and skin with his pearly white teeth bared in a grin as his sharp black eyes pierced her. His rich silk clothing, pointed slippers and scimitar strapped to his belt giving him the image of a Persian prince.

Though that long pointy beard helped too.

"What do you want?" Amphitrite hissed, ready to attack this interloper.

"Why merely to bring pain to the Olympian fools." he chuckled, "And I have just the way to do it. I just want to ask if you want to partake in the viewing of my pet tearing their children to pieces."

She turned to where he gestured and looked upon the beast in the shadows.

She then smiled cruelly and turned to the man again as it gave a three-toned hiss.

"I do believe i will Mr...?" she asked leadingly.

"Al." He answered grinning darkly with unholy glee, " Al Rihman."

_Dream Sequence_

_Shirou found himself in a blackened waste land covered in dark mud and ash. The sun was hidden behind billowing black clouds and the scent of decay filled the air. He looked in horror at this place. A place the dimension that he was raised in almost became._

_Hearing a roar, he turned toward the sound and paled. A great three headed flew through the air in a circle around a razed hill. On it were three figures sleeping against a dead tree. One was a man dressed rags and his skin was covered in tattoos, One was a woman in a white Greek chiton with dark brown hair and surprising a small amount of green around her. Between them both was an enormous muscular man wearing a loincloth and covered in dirt. In front of them was a large greek earth suddenly shook as large humanoid shapes surrounded them banging on drums in front of them._

_Finally it seemed the noise reached its peak and the jar broke and the sleeping figures eyes suddenly shot open, their merciless pinned on him._

_In unison, they spoke._

_"THE WORLD IS OURS!" they roared as he was suddenly torn out of the dream._

_End Dream._

Camp Half-Blood  
New York  
Friday February 5, 2010  
4:00am  
Shirou awoke sweating and gasping as looked around wildly, scared out of his mind. He stumbled out bed to the bathroom and splashed his face to calm himself.

Looking in the mirror he saw the wild eyes begin to dim. His breaths relaxing slowly but his body was too wired to even contemplate sleep again. He quietly got dressed in camp gear and went for a walk.

The air was clear and cold in the pre-dawn darkness. His breath misted as he jogged. As he did so his thoughts drifted from the nightmare to his experiences at the camp so far.

People still stared at him after the bout with Clarisse but it was slowly leaving. His favourite activities in the camp were the weapon making with the Hephaestus cabin, who he traded weapon ideas and forging techniques with, and greek history covered by his sister's lover. Granted, he only took it to have a more thorough understanding on the monsters he would encounter.

He hadn't participated in the Capture the Flag on Wednesday due to the fact that is was not his cabin's turn. It had ended up being Ares against Athena again, though Ares had won this time. They had started regaining the confidence they had lost with his defeat of Clarisse and were back to acting like they usually did. Rude and annoying.

He returned to himself as he reached the Golden Pine on Half-Blood Hill. Peleus looked up and stretched his head forward for a scratch. Shirou chuckled and did so while leaning against tree and and took in the view. The odd pair settled into a comfortable silence.

A moment later, Shirou noticed a set of silver flashes making their way through the forest in front of the entrance. Shirou quickly drew back into the cover of the pine tree and stood ready to Trace a weapon.

Slowly the silver flashes moved onto the road and showed themselves to be several people, woman he judged by the outlines, that were dressed in silver parkas and armed to the teeth. He relaxed as he remembered who these signified through the stories his twin spoke about. The Hunters of Artemis.

As they approached, he heard the young woman in front begin to give orders to the others.

"Now girls," said the voice he then recognised as Artemis herself, "time for a refresher test on stealth. Your mission is to now infiltrate the camp and make it to the cabin without being seen."

"Must we, Mistress?" whined a short redhead, "That would hardly be a challenge."

"Don't underestimate them Melissa," said a Hunter with spiky black hair and a silver circlet on her brow, "They have proved they're not stupid."

"Maybe not the girls but the boys are." returned a tall and broad Hunter, which elicited giggles from the others and a small smile from the goddess.

Shirou decided to rain on their parade a bit and spoke up.

"If you're trying to sneak in, then you have already failed."

The Hunters and Artemis all whirled towards the voice, hands reaching for their weapons. Shirou merely raised an eyebrow at their actions but said nothing. The Hunters on the other looked angry at the thought a male had snuck up on them.

"Who are you?" growled the one in the circlet.

"I believe your mistress knows quite well who I am." he said with a slight smile and jerking his chin in the Moon Goddess' direction.

Artemis looked distinctly unamused at the way he passed the buck but couldn't refute what he said.

"Girls, this is Perseus Hector Jackson, son of Poseidon and twin to Andromeda." she said, making more than a few jaws drop. None more so than the one in the silver circlet.

He bowed slightly while watching them, the smile now a smirk. He soon lost his smirk a sudden thought ran across his mind and turned directly to the one in the circlet.

"If I may ask? Are you Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus?" he questioned seriously, leaving a few bewildered at his sudden change in demeanour.

"I am. What about it?" she said bluntly.

He ignored her for a moment, turning towards her annoyed mistress.

"As the young ladies current guardian I have to ask. May I present her with a gift in gratitude for what she has done in regards to saving my twins life numerous times?"

Artemis was taken aback at the request but recovered and exchanged glances with her lieutenant. At her nod in acceptance, Artemis gestured for this boy to go on.

Shirou stood straight and raised his right hand over his left shoulder. To the surprise of the hunter a glowing golden circle appeared and an object fell from it into his hand then just as quickly disappeared. Before the questions could start, Shirou approached within arms length of Thalia and held open his hand. In was a large, wide and extremely intricate bracelet made of an unidentified silvery metal and a motif of scales.

"Put this on and then channel some of your lightning into it. The true gift will then manifest.' he said staring directly into the daughter of Zeus' eyes.

Thalia took it and examined it carefully before putting it on her right wrist. It fit snugly but wasn't pinching or uncomfortable. Thalia then took a deep breath and channeled lightning into the bracelet.

Suddenly it was glowing brightly. Shocked Thalia stopped the lightning but it was too late.  
To the consternation of the Hunt the light started to spread until it completely encompassed the Hunter.

Artemis moved instantly, rounding on the boy and tried to grab him but he somehow evaded and then held her hands from behind.

"Calm down. Your lieutenant is unharmed." he spoke to the goddess and her followers, "This is just the initial calibration. The glow should stop now."

Sure enough the glow stopped and the Hunt got a good look at the new Thalia.

She was still clad in the normal parka and camouflage pants but the exposed skin was now covered in silvery scales. Thalia panicked a she looked at the result.

"What did you do?" she whispered harshly, rage burning in her eyes just like the other Hunters.

He looked at her while still holding the goddess pinned and spoke to them all.

" If I let your mistress go, will you give me a chance to explain?"

The Hunters looked angry but nodded grudgingly. He then let go and launched himself back, just avoiding the retaliative blow by Artemis. He quickly held his hand up in surrender and quickly explained.

"That is something I've been working on. I called it the Divine Bull. Its a catoblepas hide threaded throughout with celestial bronze wires. When you put it on and channeled lightning it aligned all the wires to overlap and align with your nervous system."

Those listening were puzzled trying to understand the purpose. They all relaxed slightly but didn't release their weapons as he continued.

"As a suit of armour the catoblepas hide is second only a Nemean Lion's. But its true strength lies in the wires. When you constantly channel your power through the suit it will accelerate your nervous system. You will able move quicker, react faster, hit strionger all the while wearing a suit of armour that little short a your father's master bolt could penetrate."

The Hunt was in awe at the gift, even Artemis. He still had more say though.

"The downside is that its gift is also a weakness. It may make you faster but your body and mind are not use to the speeds you could reach. The side effects are tunnel vision at speed and immense stress on the body. There is a time limit of five minutes, that if overstepped could result in a complete physical shutdown or permanent nerve damage." he concluded grimly causing a few to pale.

His piece said he walked away from the still stunned Hunters to return to his cabin.

The Hunters looked after this strange boy that would give a great, if dangerous, gift and not wait for thanks. They all hoped to face the boy in the flag match to see if his skill in crafting was equaled by his skill in battle.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter folks. As usual please review.


	8. The Fangs of Darkness

Hey all. Thank you for the reviews. To McCabeRz he may have seemed under powered but that was because he wanted to keep his reinforcement as a trump card, however he misread the situation. First a demigod is stronger on average to a mortal in the physical sense due to the divine blood pushing them back to their origin (See 'In Flight' by gabriel blessing), secondly the spear she had was boosting her abilities at a ridiculous rate and the blessing on top of that was overkill, lastly he wasn't using reinforcement and underestimated his opponent and paid for it. He chose the quickest way to end it without harming her even if it exposed some he wanted hidden. Luckily most of the gods just think it was advanced Mist creation and won't look further. To kroz phantomville yes his Noble Phantasms do cost less to make and use. Hoped I answered to your satisfaction. Now its time to d-d-d-d-duel.

Chapter 7

The Fangs of Darkness

_Camp Half-Blood  
New York  
Friday February 5, 2010  
2:00am_

The Zephyrus river that ran through camp was silent and still. Then a rushing sound was heard as the water flowed upward creating the shapes of three figures. One woman, one man and a large monster.

"Are you sure this is the right place, my dear?" spoke the man, firmly holding the monster by the leashes around it's throats.

"Don't call me dear," she snarled before calming, "Yes I'm sure. This is the creek that decides the victors in that pathetic little war game of theirs."

"Good." he murmured.

He pulled the monster's faces down to look it in the eye. His aflame with a malicious glee as he gave it orders.

"Hide at a deep place in the creek. Do not reveal yourself until there are a large amount of demigods in the area and one has crossed the creek. After that," he then grinned wickedly mirroring his female companion, "eat hearty and have fun."

The monster growled in acknowledgement and submerged before swimming off.

The pair watched it go before the man held out his arm to the scarred woman.

"Shall we go the balcony to watch the show, my lady," said the man in a faux gentlemanly manner.

The woman laughed richly and took the offered and the pair disappeared without a trace. Leaving behind only a monster that thirsted for blood.

All in a good day's work in their opinion.

_Camp Half-Blood  
New York  
Friday February 5, 2010  
12:45pm_

Artemis and her hunters sat at their table eating and chatting along with the other cabins. They also kept an eye on this new mystery. The male twin of Andromeda.

Currently the object of their scrutiny was sitting at the Apollo table, listening intently to his adopted sister's excited ramblings. His face was set in a soft smile as he made sounds of interest and question during the tale she spun.

That was another thing that drew the Moon Goddess' curiosity. The girl was interesting to her divine senses. She sensed was of mortal birth but there was something off about it. As if her one of parentage wasn't human but not quite. The raw power she also felt in the girls body, despite it being foreign to her, was exceedingly large.

As she mused on this, the scent of the sea came to her nose and she turned to see the daughter of Poseidon walk up and start talking to her lieutenant.

"Been a while, Tree Hair." she said faux mockingly.

Thalia snorted.

"Not quite long enough. Have you managed to the broadside of a barn in Archery yet? Or is the safest place to be still directly in front of you when shooting?" Thalia teased lightly, drawing giggles from the rest of the Hunters.

Surprisingly, Andromeda seemed to grin impishly at the comment.

"Actually I've managed to start hitting bullseyes."

The table halted for a moment. Even Artemis paused to stare at the child of the sea. While they were rarely at camp, the Hunters knew from experience and stories spread by Thalia that Anne's aim was atrocious.

"Your joking." Thalia breathed.

"Nope." she chirped, "I just got some advice on how to think."

"What do you mean?" asked an eager Cindy, who was the worst archer in the hunt and very willing to learn anything to shoot better. Though worst only meant she was as good or only slightly better than some Apollo campers.

"The advice I was given was that the secret to archery, lies not in the body, but in the mind and soul. When you line up to shoot next time, focus on the target. Picture a silver line moving from your heart to the target. Let your heartbeat pulse along the line and feel the beat of the target. Then, when they beat in synch, launch you arrow."

The hunt digested these words trying to parse the meaning from them as Andromeda continued on.

"When I did what was suggested it was amazing," she said with awe filling her voice, "When I reached that mindset it was like I was one with the world. I could feel the movements of those beside me, hear the fluttering of a bird's wing and see the pulse of the target. Its hard to describe but it is like the whole world breathes. Each in a different way, even the smallest of stones and fallen leaves had their own beat. When I first shot my bullseye I just slowed breath and my heart to equal the target along the silver line I imagined. Then the moment I synched I launched the arrow. It was like I was the arrow and the target. When the arrow struck I felt the thump through the line."

Andromeda shook her head in wonderment, as the now fascinated Hunt listened avidly.

"Like I said, it was a unique experience." she finished.  
The Hunt was amazed at the experience she described. It almost sounded like what they felt when in a forest or wild places. An understanding of everything around them and their place among it.

"Who gave you this advice?" Artemis asked intently, wanting to know who this person was that seemed to be so skilled in archery that they were able to enter such a state.

Andromeda smiled softly and looked at the Apollo table, the Hunters following her gaze.

"My brother." she responded simply and walked away to talk to Annabeth, leaving a now shocked Hunt.

They all looked at this increasingly interesting man that they had encountered that morning. Watching as he then started playing around around with the doll-like child, much to the amusement of the rest of the table, only one thought ran the collective heads of the Hunt.

_Who or what was this Perseus Hector Jackson / Shirou Emiya?_

_Camp Half-Blood  
New York  
Friday February 5, 2010  
6:00pm_

"Heroes and Hunters!" bellowed Chiron from the stage, "You know the rules of the game so I won't bother explaining. Heroes, you have the northern area. Hunters have the southern. When you go to the areas you may not leave it until the conch sounds. You all know how to win."

Chiron then looked around at the assembled teams of ten.

The campers had the Poseidon cabin with the Stoll brothers, Clarisse, Annabeth, Will Solace and two of his brothers. Nico di Angelo, who had arrived that lunch from duties to his father Hades, rounded out the team.

The Hunters were led by Thalia and Phoebe with the other Hunters drawing straws to participate.

"You may all go to your stations. Good luck to you all." the centaur said before trotting off.

The teams immediately made for their designated flag areas.

As the campers arrived they immediately began to discuss options.

"What's the plan, nerd." Clarisse said without any bite.

"Will, pair your brothers up with the Stolls. They will go around their flanks and approach the flag from the sides. Take your time and make sure not to get caught. You are the ones who will get the flag. Clarisse and Anne will go up the middle heading straight for the flag as a distraction for the flying pairs. Draw their attention and keep as many occupied as you can. The more you fight the less they have to stop the pairs. Nico and I will play ghost and pick off the hunters one by one. With our invisibility and Nico's shadow tricks it should be good. Will and Shirou will protect the flag. Questions?" she finished.

They all shook their heads.

"Good. Let's mosey!" she smirked causing them to chuckle.

They quickly partnered up and as the conch horn blew sprinted to their tasks.

Shirou gestured for Will to take the trees which he quickly did. Shirou himself planted his body in front of the flag and flicked his now glowing hands in a few motions causing the flag to flash before settling.

Now comes the boring part Shirou thought.

The friends waited tensely for the first attempt from the Hunters. A short while later they heard the crash of weapons in the distance. They knew that battle was joined. They waited some more.

It was only Shirou's sharp senses that caught the Hunters.

"Will!" he roared pulling his weapons and whirling around, "Behind!"

Will reacted by quickly turning and blindly fired, forcing the Hunter about to knock him out to take a rubber arrow to the stomach and knock her out of the tree. It had however left him open to a strike from another Hunter and soon fell to the land of sleep.

Shirou meanwhile was facing a two on one fight with the other pair. They moved in synch like only those who knew each other well could. They didn't use bows but knives instead. He was slowly losing ground as he could not hit them and only defended. One would strike and the other would move to the side to make another strike when he defended the other's attack. It was a continuous chain of movements that he could only defend.

"I've got it!" was suddenly heard behind him. He locked blades with both of his opponents and shoved them away and glanced behind. One hunter was holding her partner up and clutching the flag.

"Lets move!" the flag carrying redhead barked and suddenly shot off, the weight of her part not appreciatively slowing her.

His opponents tossed arrows with their hands and smoke erupted, giving them the chance to flee.

Shirou looked after them, a blank expression on his face. Hearing a groan he turned to the now waking son of Apollo.

"What hit me?" he moaned.

"My guess? One of your cousins with male issues." Shirou answered dryly, sheathing his blades.

"Did they get the flag?" Will asked, finally coming back to himself and looking around.  
"They think they do." Shirou said cryptically before hauling Will to his feet.

"Lets go see the end of this chase, shall we?" said the swordsman as he started running after the Hunters with Will only a step behind.

As they came to the creek border, they saw fighting on both sides. On the northern shore, it seemed their assaulters had encountered Annabeth, Nico and his undead minions, who were preventing them from crossing the river for the win. On the southern shore, it was similar with Travis holding the flag and trying to cross with Anne's help but the Hunters kept her from concentrating enough to take advantage of the water.

Finally a break for the Hunters came as a stray arrow from the Apollo campers flew wide and struck the back of Nico's head, dazing him and causing the skeletons to collapse. Quickly the redhead with the flag launched herself forward and waded through the creek causing cheers and groans to come from the respective teams and watchers.

However something was wrong as the flag didn't change to Artemis symbol. In confusion, she looked closely at the cloth as a smirking Shirou walked over to Travis, gripped him by the jacket and tossed him to the shallow side of the opposite shore.

As everyone looked on in shock, Travis stumbled out of the river.

"What the Styx, Shirou!?" he spluttered before trailing off as the flag erupted and changed to the symbol of Hermes cabin.

Everyone stared at the flag before turning to Shirou, who was now chuckling at the expression of confusion on the Hunters faces. He then snapped his fingers theatrically as the flag in the Hunters hands shattered into flecks of prana.

"All warfare is based on deception." he quoted looking at the now fuming Hunters.

"Thats cheating!" Phoebe screamed, "You can't take the flag from its designated spot unless your the other team or returning it to your home ground."

"I didn't touch the flag," he said chuckling, "It is still at the starting area."

Ilya then started laughing as she understood what happened. The rest looked at her confused.

Ilya then explained.

"Big brother cast a spell on the flag thus he didn't touch it. The spell made the flag invisible. He then created a fake of the flag and then let you take the fake. By the time you would have come to the creek the others on the team would have got the flag here. You were in a race and forgot the baton." She then laughed uproariously and was soon joined by the rest of the team and the campers.

The Hunters were far from amused but had to admit it was a cunning plan. They settled for standing tall and scowling at any who dared look at them.

"For the first time ever, I gladly declare the winners to be Camp Half-Blood." announced Chiron a wide smile on his face at the achievement of his pupils.  
The campers all applauded and cheered the team right there.

_Hidden Location  
Present_

"Time for the show." singsonged the mysterious Mr. Rihman to the Queen of the Sea and clicked his fingers.

_Camp Half-Blood  
Present_

Shirou was the first to sense it.

A smell of something foul, fetid, decaying and ashen washed over him. He immediately froze, remembering when he last smelled this.

It was when his friends had died. It was when the sky turned dark and stayed so. It was when all hope seemed lost.

It was the scent of Angra Mainyu.

He looked quickly around for the source, his shifting gear into war mode. His brow furrowed and focused, his muscles tensed and ready to move and his circuits charging awaiting his command.

His eyes landed on a stray eddy in the water behind the sulking Hunters who were being comforted by their Mistress. A large black shape was moving slowly towards them, ready to strike them unawares.

Not on his watch.

_"I am the bone of my sword."_ he intoned loudly, drawing attention to him from the team.

Then his body was moving. Between one breath and the next he had covered the ground between himself and the now surprised Hunters, who were readying to defend themselves with Artemis glowing bright in anger at this seeming betrayal.

Then all hell broke loose.

A loud roar and splash was heard as a massive serpentine head lashed out at Cindy, ready for its meal. It was too fast for her to dodge and her sisters too far to react. She closed her eyes in fear waiting for the pain. Then the sound of tearing flesh and pained hissing filled the air. Opening her eyes, Cindy saw a sight she would never forget.

Shirou Emiya stood in front her, black blood dripping from his swords as he stared at the monster. The monster had lost one of its scarlet red eyes and watched its attacker in rage.

Shirou voice then boomed across the clearing.

"Warriors!" he roared as he dodged a strike from the monster with uncanny speed, "To Arms!"

Everyone finally reacted. Those without weapons immediately retreated to grab theirs. The Hunters quickly pulled their bows with their mistress and launched a barrage that, to their consternation and fear, did no harm at all as it ignored them and chased Shirou's blurring figure.

The flag team also tried to attack the black serpent but only Clarisse was able to wound it with her spear and then it was less than a scratch.

The roaring increased as, with an immense splash, two more identical heads appeared to aid the wounded one.

"Styx." hissed Artemis as, glowing brightly silver, she launched a stronger attack that again did no damage. She quickly danced away from the retaliatory snap of jaws.

"How did you wound it?" Annabeth yelled at Clarisse as she again darted for an attack, before aborting as the monster lashed out with a now exposed forepaw that would have taken head off.

"Be buggered if I know!" she yelled back making at the side of the injured ones neck as it still chased Shirou, his form bouncing around and moving at speeds she thought impossible. It somehow managed to dodge and swung its tail at her which she ducked.

"Its because of her weapon." said Ilya, who had surprised everyone by weaving white wire in her sleeves into a hawk shape which harried the injured head to provide a distraction for her brother.

"Her weapon was used to kill a powerful drakon on top of already being a weapon belonging to and created by a Divine Spirit. It has taken on attributes of a dragon slaying weapon. This is also helped by her own deed which makes any weapon she picks up have a minor boost in power against draconic opponents. Unfortunately this drakon or dragon is so powerful that only the strongest of weapons will be able to harm it."

Listening to this calm explanation as they kept fighting the beast, drawing it away from the water and into the middle of the clearing, they began to feel slight fear.

"Move back!" Shirou as leapt from the ground, narrowly avoiding a snap of sharp teeth, to the top of a tree and then jumped again until he was high above the beast of the world's evil.

They all immediately leapt back at the command in his voice. Even the Hunters and Artemis obeyed that voice. As they did so they witnessed a marvel.

It rained swords.

Hundreds of swords fell from the sky around Shirou and either struck the beast or drove it back into the climbing wall. It was now trapped.

Shirou landed easily from his jump and quickly traced three weapons.

His favoured blades, a pair of chinese pian-dao that looked like yin and yang symbols. They were Kanshou and Bakuya. The married blades.

The other was a spear with a barbers pole haft and a simple broad steel head. He quickly tossed it to Clarisse.

"Clarisse use that spear and stab it in the chest. I will keep the injured head off of you. Hunters, take the right. The rest will take the left."

Clarisse frowned and made to speak but Shirou cut her off with an impatient look.

"Don't ask questions right now. Just trust me and get this done."

The monster had now recovered from the onslaught of flying swords and was looking to hurt someone.

_Severely_.

"_Steel is my body and fire is my blood_," Shirou incanted, increasing his self reinforcement and charged the foul spawn of Azi Dahaka head on with the others on his flanks and Clarisse running directly behind, ready to strike at the right moment.

The three heads lashed forward. The right one was deflected by a shield with a gorgons head on it backed up by a Divine Bull wearing Thalia causing it to swing around woozily. The left was struck by a ball of hard water from Anne which shifted its strike into the ground and was tied down by Ilya. The center and injured head aimed for the pest who wounded it. The last thing that one ever saw was a pair of swords coming for its neck.

"Now!" Shirou bellowed as he then had to block a striking foreclaw. His feet were pushed back but he halted the strike.

Clarisse, not stopping her charge, plunged the now golden glowing spear halfway to her hand in its heart.

A screaming roar of pain and despair filled the night as the spawn of the Dahhak dissolved into black dust leaving only a smell of decay.

The assembled warriors all breathed a sigh of relief at the destruction of the creature. The others who had run to get weapons returned to find the fight already over and land looked like it would take a lot of elbow grease to repair.

Many mentally whimpered at the thought of all that work. Outdoors. In winter.

A sudden surge through the crowd showed Rachel Elizabeth Dare as she stumbled toward Shirou who looked at her warily.

Her eyes suddenly burned green and an eerie voice spoke from her lips.

_"I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach speaker and ask."_

Shirou closed eyes, weary and tired. He didn't want to ask but he knew he had to. To protect his family. He now knew the dream was more than just unpleasant.

"What must I do?" he asked, head still bowed.

_"The Earthen Mother and Darkened Father to be set free,  
The Bestial Son strains to be,  
Seek the Keys to the Blackest Door,  
To seal it closed once more,  
Follow the trail of the Western Heart,  
With seven companions to guide your path,  
Trojan and Hellen both align,  
Or see forever the end of times."_

As she then slumped to the ground, Shirou clenched his fists in anger.

_Another battle to save the world_ he thought bitterly.

_How wonderful._

Hope you enjoyed it folks.  
Please review.


	9. Gathering Forces Part I

Hey all. Big thanks to those who have reviewed so far. To kroz phantomville he didn't use caladbolg because of the collateral damage it would cause and the proximity of allies to the beast. It would not do to kill the beast and several friends as well. As for not using an anti-dragon noble phantasm, I did. The spear I gave Clarisse was such a phantasm. if you can't guess it then read the chapter. Enjoy the show folks.

Chapter 8

Gathering Forces Part I

Ocean Palace  
Atlantis  
Friday February 5, 2010  
9:00pm

A thrown vase shattered against the wall of the suite as Amphitrite raged at the survival of her damned husband's spawn.

"How could this happen?! Who have I offended that Fate would twist my vengeance so?" she roared. Thankfully for her own health, the room was imbued with spells of silence or her fickle partner would come knocking.

With the full power of his Trident.

She snarled and shrieked again, this time destroying a free standing mirror. Now broken, it allowed her to the see her scarred visage in the splintered remains.

"There was always the possibility they could survive." pointed out Al Rihman as he stood away from the epicentre of her tantrum, drinking a deep red wine from a glass.

"You've mentioned that fortune seemed to favour the girl. Why would the boy be any different?"

"Probably because I was able to get him the first time?" she questioned sarcastically before sighing.

"Still all is not lost," she said, a devious and malicious smirk lining her still flushed face, "I was able to see some of the boy's abilities."

She shivered slightly. The boy was powerful. Fast, smart, strong, very skilled and gifted. That gift was interesting. The ability to use magic was rare in any demigod bar Hecate's. His skill in Mist Creation was unparalleled by any demigod and minor deity she knew of. He could maybe even give Hecate herself a run for her money in that arena.

And she knew he still didn't go all out.

A frission of fear rushed down spine and her scar throbbed hard as she again remembered his last words.

"I will find a way back. I will find a way back and hunt you and kill you for what you have done, not to me but to my family. That. Is. A. Promise!"

"That at least is a positive." agreed Rihman which broke her from her musings.

"I'll just have to be a bit more circumspect in my plans now. If his spawn are attacked too many times, the pathetic pool of brine will start looking very closely." she growled.

"Oh ho!" remarked the Persian dressed man with a raised eyebrow, "Your hate for your spouse runs deeper than I thought for someone who married him."

"There is no love in the marriage," Amphitrite spat, "The reason we married despite barely tolerating each other is because it was part of the agreement with my father, Oceanus. When Poseidon first gained his domain Oceanus fought hard to keep it. The war between the two lasted decades. Eventually my father started to lose ground but too slowly for Brine Breath's tired forces to press hard. Seeing only defeat after a long struggle, father offered surrender under certain terms. One of which was that the moron take myself as a bride to rule beside him. Poseidon accepted."

She spat to the side in disgust before continuing the story.

"The only time we have shared a bed is on the wedding night which resulted in Triton. He tries to keep out of my way unless an official function comes up and we play the part of the Royal Couple. I, however, despise the surf bum and all that share his blood. I hate them because they took away my freedom in my father's court. Here, I am just a showpiece."

"Quite the story." her guest muttered before draining his glass and dashing it against the wall.

"And what if I gave you and some other beings the chance to gain the respect and power you deserve and strike back at Olympus?" he said slyly.

Amphitrite looked hard at the guest she barely knew or trusted in suspicion before her hunger for power won out.

"I say tell me more." she purred while gently caressing the man's arm seductively.

As he explained the specifics, laughter filled the room. Long and loud.

Filled with dark triumph.

Camp Half-Blood  
New York  
Saturday, February 6, 2010  
6:00am

The Big House began to fill.

After the excitement from the night before it was decided that they would wait until the next morning to speak on the new prophecy issued by Rachel.

Chiron, Rachel and Mr.D sat at the head first and Artemis and her lieutenant followed soon after. The Poseidon children and Ilya entered next along with Will, Clarisse and Annabeth. The rest trickled in slowly and by half past they were all assembled.

"Now that we are all assembled, I open the floor to discussion on the prophecy issued." Chiron spoke as he handed out written copies of the prophecy

Annabeth spoke up.

" 'The Earthen Mother and Darkened Father to be set free'? Thats an unusual one. The first title is obvious. It speaks of Gaia."

The deities in the room winced and looked troubled.

"You are probably right." Artemis admitted reluctantly, "Recently the girls and I have been encountering monsters in groups again, like in the lead up to the Titanomachy."

"Well great." growled Travis, "Another war is going to kick off. Ares must be laughing in glee."

"The 'Darkened Father' bit may mean Tartarus or Erebus but I'm not sure." Nico said, his eyes brooding. Despite being a child of the god of the Underworld, he had no desire for a war of blood and death. Not after the last one cost him his sister.

"I don't think so." interjected Dionysus, surprising everyone with his serious voice and participation rather than snide and unhelpful remarks, "Those are tightly bound to their areas and are so content with their jobs that they have become the areas of their influence. There is more in common with them if you compare Olympus itself rather than any deity."

"The Bestial Son makes even less sense to me. Gaia had many different children and some were beasts but she hasn't had any since she drifted into slumber millennia ago" mentioned Lou Ellen, head of Hecate cabin.

"What has me a little scared is the 'Keys to the Darkest Door' part." said Will, "Does anyone else think that sounds very ominous?"

"The part that has me stumped is Trojan and Hellen line." said Katie Gardner, a brown haired daughter of Demeter.

Chiron winced in unison with the gods, which was noticed by Ilya.

"You know something." she stated, looking them directly in the eye and drawing a silent son of Poseidon's attention.

Artemis and Dionysus looked at each other before grimacing slightly.

"I'll go up to Olympus and talk to my father." Artemis sighed, "I'll need his permission to reveal the truth of that statement. It is one the Olympian's biggest secrets and extreme measures were made to protect it."

So saying she started glowing, causing everyone but Mr.D to close their eyes, before she vanished with a flash.

The room was quiet for a moment before the one who was given the Quest spoke up for the first time from his place looking into the hearth fire.

"The Western Heart is easy. We will have to go to places that Olympus once called home," his voice was empty and slightly cold, as if his thoughts and heart were elsewhere leaving only a shell of a man.

Ilya and Andromeda looked at their brother in concern. Ilya because she knew that tone he took when he was about do what needed to be done regardless of the consequences. The voice of [The King of the End]. Anne because she felt pain in the voice, no matter how well hidden.

"There also the dumb snake to chat about." snarled Clarisse, her voice calming a bit as the Aphrodite leader, Silena Beauregard gently patted her hand in sisterly manner.

"Yeah like how the hell something like that got in here and what the fuck it was?" Connor said irritably. He was still shaking at the thought of the beast. Whatever it had been, it was cloaked in an aura of terror. He could barely lift his sword while fighting it out of sheer terror. It made him feel helpless, just like many of the others.

He absolutely hated it.

Surprisingly Ilya spoke up and everyone listened intently.

"It was a spawn of one of the most feared drakon to ever exist. Its sire was more akin to a demon and a force of darkness than anything else."

"How do you know that?" said Castor, son of Dionysus, who nodded at his sons well deserved question.

"My sister and I have faced it's sire's master before." said Shirou, now facing the table and went to continue when Artemis flashed in.

"I've got permission." she said all business like, "It was a hard sell but with the prophecy specifically saying so he didn't really have a choice."

"So what is the secret, my lady?" asked Thalia eagerly.

"Roman demigods still exist."

That comment had the equivalent reaction as if a bomb was dropped in their midst and didn't blow up. Total and complete shock and disbelief.

Charles Beckendorf, leader of Hephaestus cabin, chuckled shakily, making the visible burn scar he obtained from a ship explosion seem to ripple.

"Surely you jest, Lady Artemis." he said.

Artemis' eyes flashed in anger.

"I don't believe that this is the time for jokes, boy. Whether you like it or not there are Roman demigods in America. The Mist specifically keeps the two camps separate because every time you have met, you have fought. The American War of Independence was the last such one. The reason for there being romans is because we, the gods, spent such a long time in Rome it made a lasting impression on us. Our natures are slightly different in our Roman aspects. More miltaristic. Either way the prophecy is telling us to work together so take that as you will."

Silence greeted the deity's rant and caused everyone to think heavily.  
Chiron then turned to the one who was issued the Quest.

"You mentioned that you knew something about the drakon?" he questioned causing everyone, including the surprised goddess, to listen intently.

Shirou, who had turned back to the hearth, then quietly strode to his little sister Ilya and gathered her in his arms. While they thought it strange they waited a moment until he started speaking.

"Some of you know about my origins, that I was raised in a different world to this one?" he asked getting nods or looks of shock before he continued. "A short time before I came to my birth world, about six months, I got involved in an event that was orchestrated or hijacked by a god that had almost completely faded. The reason he hadn't was because his domains that he was part of would never be able to be completely destroyed. That still wasn't enough to keep him fading but it did slow it down immensely. By the time all the other deities of many other pantheons had faded, he was extremely weak. Only just existing. Then some idiot tried a summoning spell for a powerful being which summoned him instead. When the task was done he returned to that pitiless existence but retained a link to the object that was used to summon him. Each time it was used, he was able to siphon off some of the power like a loathsome leech and even less charming. Eventually, through repeated use, he was able to absolutely corrupt the item and use it for his own means to alter the ritual it was used for to allow him to physically manifest on the mortal plane once more. Can you even imagine it? A world that had almost forgotten the gods and one would manifest in all its unholy glory for the first time millennia. Eventually it was able to succeed in part. Through the efforts of myself, my sister and many dead friends we were able to lessen its power but not prevent it's manifestation." taking a breath from the speech, he looked around at the wide disbelieving eyes on all the faces.

He went on.

"It came down to myself and the being to fight it out. My sister was out of commission and didn't have the power or abilities that could destroy a deity. It would have been like throwing a cotton ball at a boulder. She would not have had a prayer at her full power on her best day. However, my abilities were a match for it. Maybe not in power, but in ability to cause it harm. I was strong, fast, skilled and effectively immune to its nastiest power due to the nature of my abilities, a certain object and, unknown to me at the time, my divine blood. It came down to melee fight where I was more skilled than he was. In the end, I won and he lost and was destroyed and I later came here." he finished.

A stilted silence filled the air before Chiron cleared his suddenly dry throat and pointed out.

"You still haven't answered the question,"

"The drakon we slew was a spawn of Azi Dahaka also known as Dahhak. He was a monstrous black serpent in Persian religion that was said to bring disaster wherever it went. Its master was known as Angra Mainyu also called Ahriman. His domain was 'All the World's Evils' and was often referred to as the God of Darkness." Shirou said looking at the now horrified paling faces of all the assembled, including the gods.

"It was also Angra Mainyu that I slew in the other world."

The jaws of everyone gaped open in shock at the statement. They couldn't believe that such a thing was possible.

Shirou looked around and everyone saw his eyes. They were deep and filled with the shadows of self torment. His face was lined and tired seeming an old man in a youth's body. He waited for someone to speak up while he hugged his sister firmly.

Dionysus managed to be the one to first stir himself and stared piercingly at the two siblings.

"You think this deity has a counterpart in this world and is the one referred to as the Darkened Father?" he questioned seriously, his face focused and drinking was not on his mind.

"Yes" was the simple reply.

Annabeth managed to stir herself as well and asked the important question.

"So who is going with you and where are you going first?"

Shirou looked at her with empty eyes which frightened her slightly.

"It will be myself and three others who will depart for the camp of the romans as soon as they are packed." he replied, his voice also blank.

Cries of protest erupted before being swiftly cut off by Shirou banging hard on the table.

"This is not up for discussion. The prophecy said I needed seven companions and that Trojan and Hellen both align. I take that to mean I need some roman demigods on my list as well. Reading between the lines, if I want their help I will need to keep things even so distrust does not form in the group. An even split between Roman and Greek sounds like the way to go."

Silence descended as everyone grudgingly admitted it.

Shirou kept talking.

"The group with me will be Will, Clarisse and Nico." he said before looking hard at the others.

"I know you guys want to come along but no dice. Their fathers in the Roman pantheon are some the most respected which I need to offset us being Greek and myself the child of Poseidon/Neptune."

He then turned to the deities who were studying him quietly.

"Are you able to offer us passage into the Roman camp so we can speak their leaders privately?"

Artemis immediately nodded.

"I will personally escort you there this morning as a thank you for saving one of my Hunters."  
"Your gesture is appreciated." he then started turning towards the door but was interrupted by a scream, which sent him running to the source.

As the others followed he came to the main room of the House and the large fireplace there. Lying close to it was a young looking girl with brown hair, sobbing hard. He looked around for danger as he knelt next to the girl. His nose quickly identified the sent of an immortal.

The girl looked up as the others entered the room. Her flame like eyes were filled with tears and horror. As if she had lost something precious.

"My lady," called Andromeda as she flew forward and skidded next to her patron Hestia.

"What happened?"

The goddess sobbed before saying words that sent chills down everyone's spines.

"The pithos of Pandora has been taken."

Shock set in briefly before understanding raced across the face of Shirou. Standing up, he snarled curses that blistered the air, heedless of the company he was in.

"Damn it!" he roared, the house seeming to shake at the force of the yell, "Whoever brought that drakon and is attempting to awaken Angra Mainyu and company must have stolen it. I can smell that stink in here."

He growled at the chosen quest members.

"Get your things and say your goodbyes quickly. We leave in half an hour."

They nodded and sprinted out the door.

Shirou then turned to his sisters and looked them both in the eye.

"I know you want to help but not this time. Ilya, I want you to get together with the Hecate cabin and start brainstorming on some spells. See if you can find a way to give yourself a boost to knock some bastards flat on their rears. Anne, I may have only known you for a short time but I have begun to truly think of you as a sister." standing straight he then pulled the green and red swords from his belt and gave the red to Ilya and the green to Anne.

"These weapons are the last gifts I received from my old master, Sirius McGinty. He taught me all I knew about making and crafting magical weapons or as I call them Mystic Codes. The green one is Turan, named after the Etruscan goddess of love. When it is breathed upon, the users breath becomes particles of dust which then dissolve anything they touch. The red is Laran, named for the Etruscan war god. When swung, it collects light into the gem on the pommel and releases it in the form of an arc of flame from the blade. When used together it completely eradicates the oppanent from existence. I want you to keep these safe until I return."

The sister teared up slightly before firmly hugging their brother.

"Come back to us." they commanded him firmly, which caused a slight smile to appear on his face.

The pounding of feet gained his attention as his quest mates came into view, armed and packed.

With a last hug to both, he left to join the quest beside Artemis in her deer drawn chariot.

"Get in." she said gesturing to the seats behind.

They quickly did so and with a snap of the reins they were flying west away from the rising sun and chasing down a trail that may have gone cold centuries ago.

Hope you liked it. Please review.

PS The spear was Ascalon. The spear of St. George that slayed the dragon.

PPS Credit to Third Fang. I don't own Sirius McGinty.


	10. Gathering Forces II

Hey all. Big thanks to those who have reviewed so far. Enjoy the show folks.

Chapter 9

Gathering Forces Part II

Sky above America  
February 6, 2010  
7:00am

The chariot of the moon moved swiftly. It cut through the early morning air as it raced towards its destination.

Its occupants sat in their seats, quiet and contemplative. Even the divine driver was alone with her thoughts.

The leader of the quest rested in his seat with almost statue like stillness. His brow was furrowed as he seemed to wrestle with some inner demon.

The others squirmed slightly in their seats, not as comfortable with their transportation. Clarisse had a sudden thought that entered her mind.

"Hey, pansy. Question for ya. How the hell were you moving like you did during the drakon fight but got creamed by me before you used that chain?"

Shirou glanced up. The others also listened, curious.

"It is a basic of basic spells used by magi in the other world. Its called Reinforcement."

"You use magic then?" questioned Nico. He did not know this person well but to prevent a war from erupting he was willing to work with the swordsman.

"To a point. What the children of Hecate use would called by magi as Divine Words. For a spell, they use a portion of their own power and speak the effect they wish to create in Ancient Greek. If they used a different language it would fail. With me the words I use for my spells are simply aids to put my mind in the right frame. Ancient Greek, English, Pig Latin or Farsi they are all the same to me as long as it makes me believe the effect is possible."

Artemis listened intently. Any information on this demigod would be good to know.

Will then frowned and spoke up.

"You mean some type of self-hypnotism?" he questioned skeptically.

"Pretty much." Shirou admitted.

"Still doesn't answer my question Pansy." drawled the daughter of Ares.

"Fine," Shirou grumped, "Reinforcement is all about taking something and giving extra purpose. It makes food more nourishing, armour harder, weapons sharper etc. It does so by fixing all those little flaws you don't see, the little cracks and faults in everything in this world, and makes it a perfect example of itself. Essentially it makes an object reach its ultimate potential. When applied to the human body it means that the body is able to reach strengths unseen to normal humans. It is not a just a boost to used carelessly however. If I put too much power into the item or do not distribute the power correctly it could destroy the recipient."

"Sounds dangerous and deadly." commented Nico.

"All magic is." Shirou rebutted, "I was taught at a young age that Magi walk hand in hand with death. Our experiments might kill us, our enemies might kill us and even our own power will destroy us if we lose control of it."

The chariot was quiet at this revelation. Such a grim statement took a bit of time to percolate in their minds. Their thoughts were similar at that moment.

_What type of man are you, Shirou Emiya?_

Unknown Location  
Saturday, February 6, 2010  
7:30am

The cave was large and only dimly lighted by torches in rings along the the curved wall. On the walls between the torches were artistic pieces. Each of them depicting a form of human suffering. Torture, starvation, sickness. All of these and more lined the walls.

In the centre of the cave was a large round obsidian table. Its centre was cut out and a statue was placed there. Made of white marble and stained with blood was a creation of a man dressed in old Persian clothes with a long beard. His black eyes were crinkled in malicious glee and held a dismembered head in his outstretched left arm and a scimitar in the other at his side. On the base was a collection of skeletons carved from the base of the statue making it seem he stood on them. A pool of blood was in a black stone basin before it. It gave off a palpable sense of bloodlust and rage and sadistic joy.

It made Amphitrite a happy woman.

"A splendid sight isn't," said Rihman, "A representation of true power. A man stands above the insects and does as he wills with them."

"Quite," she purred, "However, I have to ask what I am doing here?"

"A meeting between us and our allies," Rihman replied.

The earth rumbled slightly and large stone throne-like chairs began to rise about the table.

"This is the meeting place of The Black Order. For millennia we have worked behind the scenes for one goal. The revival and release of our lord. We were seen in many forms over the years. The Immortals of Xerses, Thugee Cults, Aum Shinrikyo and others. Where the most blood was spilled, we were there to collect the sacrifice to our lord."

He gestured to the statue.

"This is the medium we use to commune with him while he slumbers in imprisonment. Recently he has contacted us to work with other factions in this play we call life."

"Still the charmer aren't you?" spoke an oily voice that the queen of the seas recognized.

"Momus?" she questioned as she turned to indeed find the rat like man.

"Lady Amphitrite," he cried in delight, "You are joining us?"

"Perhaps allying to you would be more accurate."

"One hopes it will be more dear lady," another voice said deep and rumbling.

Turning she saw to her surprise a Gigante. He was about 35 feet tall and yet she hadn't heard him move. He also wore animal skins and wielded a truly massive hunting spear. His eyes burned with a feral lust, for her or her blood she did not know or want to. She finally managed to figure out his identity.

"Gration," she gave a quiet nod.

"Yep," he said in a chipper tone.

"Don't mind him. He hasn't slaked his lust this morning," spoke a serpentine voice.

Amphitrite turned again as two figures stepped out of the dark. One was an empousa, though she carried herself tall and wore a delicate gold crown upon her brow. The other was a tall and chocolate skinned woman with delicate facial features and a well porportioned body. Her black eyes however gave off a feeling as if she were a serpent in a den of rodents and was choosing which to have for dinner. An innate sense of superiority that grated on the sea woman's nerves.

A quiet cough turned all to Rihman.

"Azi could you please perform the rite so we can get this meeting started?" he requested.

Nodding, the chocolate woman identified as Azi walked to the statue, scooped some blood from the basin and splashed it carelessly on the statue.

A roaring sound filled the air as the stone monument glowed a dark red before the noise subsided. The eyes were now glowing with power and a voice seemed to enter their minds.

"**Welcome to you all,"** the voice was smooth, dark and deadly like a sword wrapped in silk.

"**What do you have to report Rihman?"**

"My lord, we have managed to obtain the jar," he said pulling out a large pithos from beneath the cloak he wore.

**"Excellent and the other items?"**

"We are still searching sire. We have reasons to believe the Book is in New Rome but the Sword and Spear remain lost to us."

"**That is unfortunate but managable. Double your efforts to find the Sword first as well as pinpoint the Book. I have a vague idea on where the most powerful item is and will disclose it to one of the searchers directly after the meeting. Gration, How go your collection of forces?"**

"We're getting there," the giant rumbled, "but it will take time. My brothers are still waking up but we have enough monsters to pack a punch somewhere and the ones who have woken up, who are Enceladus, Alconyeus and the Aloadae, can lead them."

**"Good and Momus? What have you to report?"**

"A prophecy has been issued. I don't know the contents exactly but somehow it involves the camps working together." said the rat faced deity.

Stirs were heard among the seats as they contemplated such a development. The statue then seemed to glow brighter.

**"Who is leading the quest?"** the voice was urbane but there was an underlying tone of threat if the answer wasn't satisfactory.

Momus gulped, his face shone with nervous sweat.

"A son of Poseidon. He goes by Shirou Emiya. He was also the one that set up the defeat of Azi's spawn."

Raged flashed across the chocolate girls face and the sound of rock groaning filled the air as she tried to regain control of herself by grasping the table.

**"Enough!"** the lord barked, making Azi instantly freeze up and relax her grip.

**"Find out all you can about him. If could face and defeat one of my daughter's brood and remain unscathed even with help then he is powerful. Watch him as well. If the quest is about us, chances are they will chase down the items as well. We can use them as our bloodhounds."** the voice paused for a moment as if wondering if it should say more.

**"Dismissed and report in one week. Glory to Earth and Darkness."**

"Glory to Earth and Darkness," all the assembled spoke. To them, it was an oath they would keep. To raise the darkness. To raise the earth.

And tear down the Gods.

Amphitrite smiled as everyone started leaving to their tasks and started chuckling. A meeting of murderers and bloodthirsty fighters seeking vengeance on Olympus.

These were her kind of people.

Sky above California  
February 6, 2010  
12:00pm

A smack to the shoulder woke Shirou from his musing as he turned to the daughter of Ares in question.

"Up-a-days Pansy we're almost there."

Nodding he shifted straight in his seat and looked at the cloudbank they were driving through before it suddenly vanished and a the sight caused the campers to gasp insurprise much to Artemis amusement.

As looked down upon what looked to be a small town the goddess and assumed her Roman form of Diana.

"Welcome to Camp Jupiter."

Sorry for it being short but I am hashing out the storyline a bit more. The meeting of romans and greeks will be next chapter as well as a revelation on one of Shirou/Percy's tricks he used to one up Angra Mainyu. Cheers and please review.


	11. Gathering Forces Part III

Hey folks. Again sorry for the short chapter but now for roman meets greek. I wonder how that will go hmmm? Also a revelation one of Shirou's personal artifacts will be in the chapter in the shades of JamesDFawkes and Third Fang and the ever brilliant Marcus Gallen Sands. Also can one of you glorious people out there suggest either a mythical Anti-World noble phantasm or suggest an idea to create one like in JamesDFawkes story? Well on with the show.

Chapter 10

Gathering Forces Part III

The first thing that ran through Shirou's mind as they came in to land at the gates was Big.

The camp, which Art- Diana he corrected himself - informed them was called Camp Jupiter, was easily an order of magnitude larger in area alone when compared to the Greek camp. In addition there seemed to be a small town a little ways away from what seemed to be a large series of barracks. From what they could see it was filled with shops, homes and various other features you would find in a regular town.

When questioned Diana laid it out pretty well.

"The Romans are a close knit people. Ready to protect at a moments notice. Those are the families of the legionnaires who made it through seven years of service and decided to raise their family here. Colleges, stores, proper homes. All of these and more are available here. One can't live here, however, unless they have completed the seven years of service. An incentive to work hard and live long." she said, smirking lightly at the end.

When they landed they were quickly intercepted by the guards.

"Halt and Identify yourself!" commanded the blonde guard as his companion, a swarthy and dark haired young man, leveled a large spear at them in threat.

Diana's eyes flashed in anger and made to retort before Shirou quickly stepped forward within range of the lance and placed his fist upon his heart with a slight bow.

"Good eve, warrior. We do not mean any harm to the people within your walls but a situation has arisen which requires an urgent consultation with your ruling body. The journey to your wonderful city was made in all haste just this morning and we are eager just to see the matter resolved so that we may return home. If you could just have a legionnaire escort my companions, myself and Lady Diana it would be greatly appreciated." Shirou spoke floridly.

Nico, Clarisse and Will all raised an eyebrow at his rather decorated speech and Diana looked a trifle discomforted until they observed the reactions of the guards.

They looked a little confused but proud at the seeming respect that was delivered in verse by the red coated warrior and absolutely shocked and scared that they had dared to impede one of the more unpredictable and dangerous Olympians. The quickly began to rectify that mistake in hope of not becoming a rabbit with antlers.

"Open the gates!" the blond yelled, his fist crashing repeatedly on the sturdy wooden portal.  
With a heavy groan of protest, it began to open slowly. The blond then barked a group of legionnaires on the left side of the gate. Obvious reinforcements in case a visitor did not identify themselves and was hostile.

"Levesque. Escort the visitors to the Praetors. Zhang, get the Augur and Mother Lupa to meet up there as well. I get the feeling its important if one of the Olympians walks beside them."

The two named members of the legion quickly went about their tasks. A baby faced asian boy sprinted through the still opening gate into the camp. An African-American girl with curly brown hair and golden eyes stepped up to them and gestured to follow.

It didn't escape the sharp gaze of Shirou, Will and Diana that there was a glint of recognition between Nico and the girl but they said nothing as they were led through the gate. Absently, Diana gestured with her hand and the chariot vanished in a silver spakle.

As they passed through the camp, the greek demigods noticed the differences between the two camps. This seemed to be more militarised and formal. Their camp was a bit more loose and easy going. The romans seemed more focused on a formalised approach. They also seemed to be more orderly and rigid. Like they had read a manual and treated it as gospel. It was different from their way of thinking but it was not an insurmountable obstacle.

As they walked, with a sudden flash of light a statue of a bust appeared.

"Welcome to New Rome, Travelers." it said shocking the greeks, however the romans took it in stride, no doubt use to such an event.

"Terminus," Diana nodded in respect.

"Lady Diana," said the statue in surprise, "what brings you here and in such company no less?" he questioned.

"A very dangerous situation has arisen, Protector of the Borders." spoke the goddess of the moon impatiently, "we don't have time to delay."

"Very well. You know the rules though. No weapons over the Promerian Line. Place your weapons in the vault at my base," as he spoke the front of the column he was on swung open.

Clarisse looked about to protest before Shirou clapped her on the shoulder and shook his head.

"Go along with it," he hissed, "We will get them back."

She glared at him before nodding grudgingly and placed Maimer and sword and hidden knife in the vault. Will and Nico did the same with their archery equipment and sword respectively. Shirou however did not move.

Terminus quickly noticed this.

"And your weapons, young man," he said pointedly. Terminus could feel something different about this one and it made him slightly nervous.

"The only item I have is an empty sheath that was my father's last gift before he passed. Surely such an item would not be able to give you cause for concern," the sword in human form said persuasively.

"Show it to me and I will be the judge of that." said the stone deity firmly.

Reaching behind the back of his long red coat, he seemed to unsnap something and pulled out the sheath.

It was a bleached ivory white with purple and black veins that seemed to cover it. It was of an unknown material to most there but there was a presence about it that made it seem watchful despite it being only an object.

Terminus examined it and frowned. It did not seem dangerous at first glance but there was something about that seemed off, like there was more to it than first appeared. He frowned even heavier as he recognised it was made of an amalgam of bone and metal. It was also magical but did not have the feel of being a magical weapon.

"It seems not to be dangerous," he grudged, "however you will be watched. If this is a trick, you won't know what hit you understood?"

"Thank you." Shirou said sincerely as he tenderly replaced the item. As if it were precious to him.

They quickly moved on as Terminus gave them one more look over and allowed them to pass.

They all soon arrived silently at the domed Senate House. As they entered the house, they could here incoherent shouting from inside the main room separated from the entrance hall they were in. Ignoring the shouting, Diana slammed the doors open with an echoing boom as they hit the walls.

As they enter the now silently stunned room, they saw it was filled with people. Two sets of long ranked marble stands flanked two thrones that faced the door. They were filled with people in white togas and seemed to gape at the interruption. Above them were several floating transparent beings that gave of the feeling of power. But it the four beings in front of them that held their attention the most.

One was a massive grey wolf that was wreathed in a ghostly light and gave off the presence of a deity. It also had a hard, strict and yet motherly air about her, as they were able to guess from the slight differences compared to male wolves. If Shirou had to bet, she would be Lupa. Mother of Rome and the Capitolline Wolf.

Another was a thin blond haired teenager of about eighteen with crazed blue eyes and an almost hungry look about his face. The greeks collectively decided to avoid him if they could.

The two on the thrones were interesting. One was a tall blonde with a solid muscular stature. His electric blue eyes gave away parentage to any with a brain. Some of his features also seemed to tug at their memories. As if he looked similar to someone they knew.

It was the other that caused Shirou's breath to catch. With long black hair in a single braid that kept it away from her comely face and piercing brown eyes. She wore her royal purple toga as if it were part of her and as the light in the room seemed to reflect off of the golden decorations upon it, she gained a regal air about her. Her body also showed the indication of constant training and skill in weapons craft.

Shirou had honestly never met a more beautiful woman.

The woman recovered from her shock first.

"My Lady Diana, to what do we owe the pleasure?" he voice was regal yet carried a soft bell like chime that landed easily on Shirou's ears.

"A situation has arisen that requires delicate handling." she informed them, "Before we go further, however, it is a must that all within this room take an oath on the Styx not to breathe a word of what happens during this meeting, not to attack each other and not to leave until I declare it over. If you have problems with that, you can take it up with the next wolf you come across as a jackelope."

The words caused a stir among the Senate and some ventured to protest before the blond on the throne caused lightning to form with an ear-splitting boom.

"Silence," he commanded, "Lady Diana would hardly make such a request unless it were necessary."

Grumblings were heard until one of the men accompanying Diana stepped forward. His sea green eyes and black hair dusted with white strands resting in a harsh face making them look upon him.

"If it helps, we are willing to swear the oath as well first if that calms you somewhat." he offered.

The grumblings were lessened at the offer and at the regal womans nod the man and his companions did so. Soon after the Senate had also done so, Diana voiced the reasons for her visit.

"Let's get the biggest bombshell out in the open. Boys and Girl introduce yourselves." she directed at Shirou's party.

"Will Solace. Son of Apollo."

"Clarisse La Rue. Daughter of Ares."

"Nico di Angelo. Son of Hades and ambassador of Pluto," he said, which shocked the others slightly and made the goddess give him a slight glare.

"Shirou Emiya. Born Perseus Jackson. Son of Poseidon." he said with a slight bow which raised a few eyebrows among the Romans.

At least before they understood the implication of the statements. Then they exploded.

"Graeci!" roared from numerous throats, especially amongst the Lars.

The Senate erupted into pandemonium as they all fell over themselves to question such an event. Bringing a Greek on to Roman soil. Disgraceful.

As they argued Diana and Shirou both rubbed their faces. Finally Shirou had enough and did the same thing he did at the council meeting.

The gong rang loud and clear causing some pain amongst the assembled but the goal was achieved. Silence had descended upon the Senate.

"If you're done?" Shirou lightly questioned. much to the greeks amusement, "Lady Diana would have hardly brought us here if we wished to court trouble. So, if we could just discuss this in a civilized manner?"

Slightly abashed at her loss of decorum, the purple woman drew herself up.

"Introductions should be finished before that. I am Reyna Caemlyn, Daughter of Bellona and Praetor."

"Jason Grace," said the enthroned blond causing a slight start from the greeks before Shirou quelled them, "Son of Jupiter and Praetor."

"Lupa. Mother of Rome," spoke the she-wolf. A feral grin lining her lupine features.

"Octavian. Legacy of Phoebus and Camp Augur," said the craze-eyed blonde. His face lined in a sneer of disgust and hate.

The greeks inclined their heads in acknowledgement.

"Now that is out of the way," spoke Diana, her voice filled with sarcasm, "Let us make one thing clear. I am not on either side of this discussion. I will corroborate the Greeks story and events but what you work out will be between yourselves. I am already treading a thin line regarding interference as it is. I have no desire to step over it at this point in time."

Both sides nodded in understanding. Shirou stepped forward once more and explained the happenings and the prophecy issued. Leaving out his otherworld heritage of course.

The Romans while disbelieving at first were somewhat convinced with the deity's confirmation and now looked more than a bit worried.

Jason was the first to voice his thoughts.

"Any interesting series of events but I fail to see what you desire of us."

Shirou took a deep breath.

"Angra Mainyu was known to be the personification of 'All the Evils of the World'. Starvation, rape, death, destruction. All of these and more are within his command. He has also evidently joined up with the one you call Terra. Two primordial forces aligned against the camps. These two won't seek to conquer and rule. They want everything destroyed, from the lowest worm to the highest deity. With the allies that are already at their command it will be an impossible fight to take their armies head on. You will be crushed. We will be crushed. We will both be crushed and our ashes sent to the wind. The only way to prevent it is to work together. As the prophecy said 'Trojan and Hellen both align, or see forever the end of times.'"

Shirou gazed at the pale and grim faces of the Senate, even the Lars had lost some of their hostility, recognising that the situation did not need their biased opinions at that moment.

"What I am asking is for four of your warriors, an equal amount compared to our greek contingent, to be part of the quest."

Quiet contemplation, instead of the recent hostility, covered many of the Senate's faces. Respect was also there as they understood that he was offering equal standing between the greeks and romans if they accepted instead of favouring one over the other.

The beautiful daughter of Bellona nodded slightly.

"While I am wary of such a request, and your heritage does not help you in that case, I am inclined to err on the side of caution. The fact you were brought here by Diana and her testimony weighs heavily in your favour. I think it is too dangerous not to aid you in this quest."

Shirou exhaled the breath he was not aware of holding.

"However," she continued causing him to freeze inwardly, "I do not fully trust you and as such a Praetor will accompany three other of our legionnaires. In addition, should harm come to them by your negligence or that of your companions, them you will give yourself up to the laws of Rome and receive punishment. In return the rest of your party will be left to return to their camp unmolested. Do we have an agreement?" she ended looking at the entirety of the room.

The Senate seemed to nod, though a few looked disapproving at even thinking of working with pathetic graeci. Octavian most of all.

The greek group seemed about to growl at the audacity before Shirou raised a hand to stop them. He looked directly into the eyes of Reyna seeing a look of stern resolve he had seen before in a green eyed King.

"Agreed, so long as you all understand that I am the war leader in the party. I have final say with the Praetor as my second. You will work together as if they were fellow romans. No conflict." he countered.

Jason and Reyna looked at each other.

"Agreed," they answered.

They then turned to the Senate.

"We thank you for your time senators." spoke Reyna and nodded towards the thankful Diana who started glowing in preparation to leave.

"I hereby close the session." she declared as she vanished.

The senators all nodded and rose from their seats to leave.

Elsewhere  
New Rome  
Present

An oily figure in an alley raised a hand with a large steel ball in it that was glowing and tossed it into the main square.

As it bounced around, his rat-like face twisted in a grin.

"Showtime."

Senate House  
New Rome  
Present

BOOM!

The world seemed to rock from the blast and sent many tumbling. As they all quickly righted themselves they heard an almighty roar and screams from outside.

The romans were quickly all business like.

"Romans!" screamed Reyna, as a spear appeared in her hand that seemed made of gold, "To arms!"

They were quickly moving, as were the greeks who appropriated weapons from a near by rack in the to replace the ones with Terminus, out of building and towards the noise of battle. When they all arrived they all stopped in shock at the site.

The Forum was trashed. Like a bomb had gone off. Buildings were rubble and scattered. Several people lay dead. But it was what the response teams of the legion were fighting that held their attention.

It was huge, maybe three or four stories tall, and covered in a grey coat of scales with a fierce face, red eyes and two immense black bull like horns from its skull. In its hands were two massive sabers that he swung around in a frenzy. Where he struck the earth shattered indicating that if anybody got hit, they were never getting back up.

Jason shook himself and flipped a coin which changed into a spear and quickly called down lightning. It struck dead on but the beast did not even flinch and kept wildly attacking.

"Archers!" Reyna called, who prepared themselves as did Will.

"Fire!" she screamed.

The arrows flew and hit. Yet they bounced off. The beast still ignored the attacks.

The Romans were getting pushed back. They were trying to contain it in the square but it was too big, too strong and too wild to corner. Even with their greek compatriots helping.

"What in the name of-" started a suddenly appearing Terminus before he was swatted by a stray blow from the beast causing him to shatter.

"What is this thing?" roared a swarthy legionnaire as he laid flat to avoid a sword stroke.

"Styx if I know!" roared back an angry Clarisse as she leapt back from a wild backstroke.

"Our weapons and powers aren't even fazing the damned thing?" yelled their escort Hazel as she split the earth in front of it, only for it to jump skyward and land heavily in front of her.

Hazel's eyes widened as the she saw the sword coming down to stab her. She knew it would kill her. She would die again. This time the judges would not give reprieve. As she slowly resigned herself to die a red coated figure was suddenly in front of her. Around the figure golden light danced and he roared in defiance.

"Kiritsugu!" the roar was heard across the square as a golden pane of light appeared in front of the figure she now identified as Shirou Emiya. The sword seemed to enter the light and came out of a second one set of to the side of them both. The result being the stab destroyed a fountain rather than Hazel.

But Shirou didn't stop there.

While a momentary shock lined the beasts face, a sword shot from the golden pane towards the beast. Fast enough that even as small as it was compared to it, the beast was forced back a step. Then another sword shot forward and another step back was made.

As the others watched in shock, one person was doing what many were unable to. The pattern of shoot sword and step back repeated again and again. The swords did not harm the beast but still kept it off balance.

"Everyone!" they heard this amazing man yell as he made steps forward in conjunction with the monster's steps back, "Take out its legs! Knock it on its back!"

The collected group of warriors firmed their resolve and moved to do so.

Hazel focus her gifts to make a hole behind the cloven feet of this monster as the archers and Jason at Reyna's command prepared explosive arrows and lightning respectively.

The monster stepped into the Hazel's and lost more balance. The archers shot and the horned monstrosity finally fell back. It landed on house with a crash. It was unharmed but was stunned for a moment.

That was all that Shirou needed.

As the golden glow faded, a metallic grey one appeared as he sprinted at nigh invisible speeds to the other fighters. As he ran, they saw a white glow that shaped itself into a sword. He then leapt into the air, so as to reach the skull of the beast. He came down with his sword outstretched to impale the armour skinned demon. To everyone's surprise the sword pierced through the head like it was water.

The beast arched its back and wailed in pain before it died off to a whimper and then went limp and silent.

Dead.

As Shirou stood from where he knelt on the slowly dissolving beasts head he frowned off into the now slowly setting sun.

Whoever has such beings as this under their command, he thought as the warriors started to gather the wounded and the dead, while his group and the Praetors approached him, is cause for concern.

We need answers. Fast.

Well guys and gals how did you like this chapter. Please do review it. Incidentally here is the stats for Shirous item

Name: Kiritsugu  
Title: A Families Endless Moment  
Rank: E~A+++  
Type: Anti Army  
Kiritsugu is a sword sheath made from the bones of Kiritsugu Emiya, Shirou's father. As a man on his deathbed he wanted nothing more but to have more time with his children. As a parting wish he asked his son, Shirou, to craft such a memento from his bones, Shirou reluctantly accepted. It was bittersweet day when Kiritsugu died as it ended the pain he was in.

The sheath acts as a side dimensional storage vault similar to Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon. However there is more to it. Due to extensive use of time manipulation during his career as the Magus Killer the sheath retains that gift in response to his wish to have more time with his children. This manifested as that the inside of Kiritsugu, it is an 'Endless Moment'. Essentially time is stopped within it and nothing can change its state of being until it is removed from the confines of the storage vault. Shirou generally used this in Nasuverse to store prana expensive or useful Traced Noble Phantasms for emergencies in battle. While within Kiritsugu they are unable to degenerate and be rejected by the world and requires no cost to maintain while within it. It can also be used to launch items from within it again similar to GoB. Living Beings cannot enter due to the curse that was laid upon Kiritsugu Emiya by Angra Mainyu. Its unique gift however is that it is able to displace attacks by opening one gate in front of the attack and a second within ten metres of the user that ejects the attack. There are limits to this use. It only open one input and one output gate at a time. Another limitation is that the sheath takes a constant upkeep of prana, even when not actively used and must be in the users grasp or on the body for it to be activated.

Gate of Babylon eat your heart out huh. Please review. Also try to guess who the beast was and what was the sword that was able to kill it. I will tell at the end of the next chapter


	12. Seeking the one of stone and light

Thanks for all the goos reviews guys. to TrueXSong, I don't want him to find a phantasm I want him to make one. Maybe not Anti-World but maybe Anti Fortress. I think that due to his divine blood he has the Authority in nasuverse terms to be able to create a last phantasm of some measure of power. kroz phantomville, thank you for the idea but I wishnto move away from light based world killers. I have an idea percolating in my coffee deprived mind but it might take a while. Enjoy folks.

Chapter 12

Seeking The One of Stone and Light

New Rome  
California  
Sunday, February 7, 2010  
6:00am

As Shirou walked through the streets to the home of the Praetors the populace looked at him briefly in gratitude before they went back to cleaning up the damage caused by the attack.

After yesterday's battle, the Romans had gained some small measure of respect for their cousins and treated them as fellow Romans. The clean-up was still ongoing but the casualty list was surprisingly if still sorrowfully short. Three dead including a legionnaire almost cleaved in half from one of the beasts blows and fifteen injured to various degrees. The funeral rights would be held the day after next.

It had been collectively decided to adjourn a meeting until this morning to decide on what approach to take to this quest. As such the Greeks had been offered quarters in a guest house in the city for the night. They had accepted after retrieving their weapons from Terminus who had given them a modicum of trust to allow them to hold their weapons in thanks for their actions.

Shirou sighed heavily as he entered an antechamber just off the entrance hall to the senate. The others with the Praetors, Octavian, Lupa and three other Romans were already there.

Nodding in apology for his slight lateness, he quickly voiced the thoughts that went through his head that night.

"Okay. First, Lady Praetor, as much as do not wish to hurry you but can you please choose who will be coming on quest? This is second time a camp has been attacked by a being that managed to get within its defences. I do not wish to bring more disaster upon you and yours."

Reyna nodded sharply and gestured over towards the three legionnaires with them.

"Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang and Dakota Dram shall be the ones who will accompany you."

Shirou and the rest of the Greeks eyed them as the Romans did them.

"And the Praetor...?" Shirou questioned.

" Will be Reyna." Jason said firmly.

The female Praetor and the part leader locked gazes.

Reyna saw determination, sorrow and sacrifice within those green eyes. Eyes that seemed to be likened to the swords he produced the other day.  
Shirou looked into the brown eyes filled with a protectiveness and a cool distance. They were the eyes of a warrior queen that protected their country by whatever means necessary. A mirror of the eyes that once fought beside him in the War.

Octavian then spoke up, his dislike somewhat gone due to Nico pulling him away from several attacks.

"I did an augury last night to determine the next destination and goal of the quest."

Shirou raised an eyebrow in question.

"It seems to that you are to seek the 'One of Stone and Light'." Octavian replied, his face troubled at the wording and not understanding the reference.

"Respectfully, Augur," said Dakota after drinking from his flask, "that doesn't really tell us much."

"I am quite aware of that, Centurion" the augur snarled back, "I am just the messenger here."

"Enough!" growled Lupa, causing them to snap to attention, "You are both of the Legion. Act like it!"

"'Stone and Light' huh?" muttered Will before he turned to Shirou, "You have a clue?"

"Perhaps." Shirou said nodding quietly, "If the enemy and prophecy is following the particular theme I believe we are looking for a god who has information we need."

Lupa raised a lupine eyebrow.

"You know what that monster was from last night?" she question causing the room in unison to stare at the red coated figure.

"Yes." he said simply.

Octavian glared hard at this, his suspicions rising up.

"How could you know of it? Did you summon it yourself to make a play for favour?" he accused.

The Greeks all growled and the rest of the Romans looked at the Augur in slight indignation that was tempered with the thought of the possibility.

"No I didn't but the way it acted, the physical features, its abilities and the fact that we are facing a Persian god made me able to make a guess that proved correct on what it was."

"And that would be?" Octavian said sarcastically.

"Its name was Fulad-Zereh. A Persian horned demon that was killed by Amir Arsalan. Its mother was a witch that cast a charm upon it to never let it be harmed save by a specific weapon. Its name even means 'Possessing Steel Armour'."

The room was taken aback at the information but Lupa spotted a suspicious flaw.

"If it was only able to be harmed by a specific weapon, how did you come to have it?"

Shirou was quiet for a moment before he began explaining.

"The Greeks can probably tell you that they have seen me create weapons out of thin air," as he spoke he held his glowing hand to the side, "They think it is similar to the Children of Trivia/Hecate's Mist Creation. Not true. My gift allows me to see the creation, forging process, age and experiences of a weapon," a sword like shape began to appear in his hand, "And I can recreate it with all the powers the original had"

The sword shape flashed and a true blade appeared. It was a magnificent Persian scimitar with emeralds embedded in the hilt and a red tassel.

"This is Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegar. Once wielded Amir Arsalan to kill the demon. Originally it belonged to King Solomon the Wise of Bible fame. It is one of the greatest nullifiers of magic to be ever produced. Any magic that stands before it will be destroyed. Fulad-Zereh was immune to to our attacks because the charm of its mother erected a shield on its skin that was stronger than fortress walls. When this blade struck it negated the charm and killed the beast."

Eyes widened at such a weapon and the possibilities of the gift the man had. It would have made him a terror on the battlefield.

Shirou wordlessly shattered the weapon and waited for their reactions.

The collective response of the room was absolute shock.

Lupa however just looked hard at the man and shifted the question session back to its original track.

"What deity do you believe you are looking for?"

"Mithras the Roman God of Warriors."

This startled the room out of its shock and Reyna was quick to question.

"Why?"

"Mithras was adopted by the Romans from the Persian deity Mitra. Considering that we are facing the Persian God of Darkness, The Persian God of Light, Truth and Oath may just have some answers for us so we can stop flying by the seat of our pants and avoid getting blindsided by more creatures of terror and if I remember right he was said to have been born from a stone." Shirou confided before turning to the bewildered Augur.

"What is the destination?"

The Augur of Camp Jupiter drew himself up.

"Liberty Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri"

_Black Order Cave  
Saturday, February 6, 2010  
9:00pm_

"AAAAAAGH-CRASH!"

This and more sounds of similar types had been echoing around the chamber for the past fifteen minutes.

**"Your incompetence is tiring my patience, Momus**" said The Lord with a rumbling of a volcano about to erupt and spill pain and death.

The deity staggered to his feet having been thrown against the wall by the Lord's power.

"I could not help it, sire. The Books of Truth were destroyed long ago during the fall of Rome. They have only fragments."

**"Don't be foolish, you cowardly rat. The Books of Truth could not be destroyed. Even if their physical container were to be burned to ash, the knowledge would resurface elsewhere in another form."**

Momus flinched in fear at the Lord's outpouring of anger.

After he had let loose Fulad-Zereh he had hastened to the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus to obtain the Sybilline Books that had been rumored (at least to him) to be stored there.

He was very unhappy to find it carved into the basalt floor and very very incomplete.

He was now reporting to The Lord.

Big mistake.

Momus' attention returned to The Lord's words rather than dwell on his substantial injuries he would nurse this night.

**"Clearly you are not the right being for this job."** here the voice from the statue paused momentarily in thought before it went on.

**"The Assassin order from long ago... does the Black Order still have dealings with them?"**

Momus looked at the statue in surprise but answered quickly.

"We do but is has declined to almost extinction within the last century. There is currently only one member. However it is said that his skills exceed even the old Hassan ibn Sabbah from ancient times."

**"Good." **the voice rumbled pleased, **"Contact him and arrange for him to trail the prophecy party and if the chance should arise to cut them up but not kill them."**

Momus looked confused.  
"Why would you-urrrk!" he started to say before a force gripped hoim by the throat and started to choke him.

**"Do not try me Momus. I find your lack of faith disturbing. Should you question me again I will feed you to my daughter. Is. That. Under. Stood.**" spoke the angered deity, punctuating his last words with a tight squeeze.

Momus nodded frantically.

**"Good. After that you can go in search for the Spear. I think even you can't mess up searching a battlefield." **The Lord finished before carelessly tossing the god of satire and mockery into the wall again and let his presence fade from the statue.

From where he lay on the cold floor, Momus eyed the statue in fear before slowly rising to his feet, wincing as he did so. Then hobbled of to find a place from which he could have pleasant conversation with the only surviving Assassin.

Patchwork.

_Stitches Leatherwork Store  
St. Louis  
United States  
Saturday, February 6, 2010  
10:00pm_

The phone began to ring.

A large man with a bald head stood from the table his leatherwork kit was and answered it.

"Hello. This is Stitches Leatherwork. Paul Weaver speaking."

"I was wondering if you did _Patchwork_?" an oily voice said with an emphasis on the last word.

The man stiffened slightly before his mismatched eyes hardened.

"Details." he commanded coldly.

"A group of eight demigods, moving from Camp Jupiter and making their way west. Strong indications are that they will be entering Kansas City within the next two days. There are four Romans and four Greeks. My employer wishes for you to shadow them and if necessary rough them up a little but let them escape and keep tailing them. Daily reports to me on this number at midnight EST. A metric tonne of gold is with an escrow agent and will be delivered on completion of the task." rattled off the oily voice.

Paul scrubbed his pale face with a dark hand in thought for a moment. His scarred brow furrowed slightly before he nodded.

"Contract Accepted." he bluntly said before hanging up.

Paul then walked down the hall of his work and home to the backroom and opened it. A light flicked on automatically revealing the contents.  
A clothing dummy stood there wearing a bodytight blackish purple leather bodysuit. Beside it on a small display table were two large curved daggers on a belt with a second belt filled with throwing knives. The last item rested in a glass display case.

The man removed the item from the case and stared at it and grinned.

It strangely matched the expression on the white skull mask in his hands.

Well guys sorry for it being so short. But if I wanted to keep my post everyday schedule I had to cut it short. Sorry for the cliffie. Hope you enjoy.


	13. The Road to Revelation

Hey folks hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 13

The Road to Revelation

Highway I-80  
United States  
Sunday, February 7, 2010  
10:00am

The daughter of Bellona was relaxing slightly as the vehicle that contained the quest rode on towards their destination.

Though the type and how they obtained the vehicle were odd to say the least.

Flashback

The quest was now leaving through the Caldecott Tunnel with a nod to the guards and a salute in return.

Clarisse was the first to speak.

"Alright, I may not be the sharpest sword around, but I don't think walking across several statelines will get us there anytime in the next decade." she said, sarcasm oozing from her voice.

"And we won't be," assured the quest leader, as they stopped by the roadside that was thankfully clear of traffic.

Seeing fully armed teenagers would not have gone down well. Even with the Mist.

"So what will we be doing, getting launched from a catapult and hope to land safely?" apparently sarcasm was catching as Frank had joined in.

"I was actually thinking a nice Sunday drive," Shirou chuckled before a golden pane of light the size of a garage door formed.

Slowly a large blocky shape began to emerge, much to rest of the party's incredulity. When it was finally revealed the reactions were, to Shirou, quite amusing.

Dakota raised an eyebrow and eyed his flask in suspicion.

Hazel looked like a deer in the headlights.

Frank and Clarisse's jaws fell to the ground.

Nico had a befuddled look on his face, as if not sure what this object was.

Will grinned, his hobby of surfing making him appreciative of such a ride.

Reyna blinked and then arched her eyebrow at Shirou.

"This baby will get us to Kansas City in a timely fashion with complete discretion and all the comforts that you would miss on other modes of transport." proudly declared Shirou.

Clarisse finally stirred herself and looked at the son of Poseidon as if he had lost his marbles.

"Pansy," she said slowly as if she was holding back a boat load of rage and embarassment, "This is a comby van with red, orange and silver colours and inscribed with the words 'King of the End. Please wait in line for your finale' painted on the side. How is that discrete?"

"Ilya thought so?" he questioned sheepishly.

Judging from the looks the others gave him at this statement they had agreed with Clarisse.

End Flashback

Still, lacking other options, they had reluctantly climbed in side the vehicle.

The interior was to the exterior as night was to day.

It was obviously designed like a mobile home with tables, benches and kitchen. A water closet and shower combination at the rear. A small living area with TV to the middle of it and sleeping area behind the front seats.

Not to mention it was obviously bigger on the inside than out.

Once the shock had passed they all piled in with Shirou driving and Reyna riding shotgun.

The others sat in the back looking at the place as it drove and getting to know each other.

Reyna heard the quiet footfalls approaching the front and turned to see Hazel there. She looked somewhat uncomfortable but had done so anyway.

"Something wrong?" questioned Shirou, his deep baritone voice flowed through the comby easily.

Hazel squirmed a bit before straightening up.

"I just wanted to say thanks for saving me yesterday," she said, eyes darting to the floor in nervousness.

Shirou smiled warmly.

"It was nothing," he dismissed casually, "many would have done the same, had they been able."

Reyna's eyed the man. He truly believed that. She humphed to herself.

Naive she thought, Kind but naive.

"Actually I have a question about that," spoke Nico, from where had was sipping on a mug of hot java for the sixth time that morning.

A coffee addict, this one is, Reyna mocked in a Yoda like tone to herself.

"Oh?" even if Nico could not see the face he could the desire for him to continue.

"Those golden panes of light," he started as the others all quieted and began to listen in, "what are they and how do they do what they did?"

Shirou was quiet for a moment concentrating on the road. Then started speaking.

"The 'golden panes' as you call them, are access gates to a dimensional storage place that contains just about all of my possessions."

"I got that much," Nico said as he leaned forward, "but I'm wondering how it's made, who made it and how it shifted that stab that Hazel would have died from."

Hazel shivered as she remembered the descending sword and the miraculous save from the driver. It was something she would not soon forget.

"It was made from the bones of my adopted father and fashioned into a sword sheath, by myself at his last request to have a memento of himself that would always protect me and my sister." Shirou explained, causing a large shock to go through the group at such an admission

Reyna looked at Shirou in complete disbelief. She may not have known him for a very long, a day at most, but the character he showed made it difficult for her imagine him doing such an inexplicable deed.

Will was of the same mind.

"You did that? What the hell made-?" he was interrupted.

"My father was a different man," he said sharply, " he was a magus of some notoriety. When his father, also a magus, delved into forbidden arts in an attempt to extend his own lifespan via transformation into a Dead Apostle, a super vampire. It backfired. It began changing the entire island population where they lived into something akin to zombies. Soon the entire populace was changed save my father and his father. Terrified out of his mind, my father asked what he had done. The answer was clinical. He said it was an accident that he could learn from so as not to repeat. Noritaka, my grandfather, wrote off the entire island being depopulated as a simple mistake. Worse, he would attempt it again and again until he got the transformation right, risking the lives of thousands wherever he did so. Kiritsugu couldn't let that happen. When his father was still packing, he went to where the guns were stored, grabbed one and shot his father dead. He was only ten."

During the talk the quest began to pale at such a description.

Shirou wasn't finished.

"He was taken off the island by a woman who had come to kill his father because of his experiments. She raised him as her own son in her own field. An assassin. Not those ones who do any job, the ones that target the tyrants and dictators and oppressors and deranged supernatural beings. At one point in time Natalia, the woman, boarded a plane that contained a Dead Apostle. It turned the tables on her and had turned the entire plane, passengers and crew into the Dead, powerful zombies or animated corpses somehow. Instead of letting the plane land and cause a massive outbreak in a major city, my father made a choice. He shot down the plane with his mother figure still inside. He was only sixteen."

They were now full of horrorified disbelief.

Shirou grimly continued.

" 'For ten to live one must die. For a hundred to exist ten must be erased. For a thousand to survive a hundred must be destroyed' these were the words my father lived by until his last few years of life. He had no pride in his work or in himself. If he had to kill an innocent to ensure the guilty were destroyed, so be it. Near the end though, his grim path that he had walked was revealed to be all for nought. There his priorities changed. He saved me from the fire that was his unwitting creation. Those years I had with him we also succeeded to reclaiming his daughter from the maternal family that was using her for experimentation. After that though his health failed. As a family we had just over a year together. He wanted to keep what he had left to protect what he was originally ready to throw away for the greater good."

He looked in the rearview mirror and looked the now ill looking group in the eyes.

"Who was I to deny a man so filled with sorrow his last request?"

The group was quiet for the rest of the drive.

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That night they stopped at Cheyenne to rest up for the next day. They had broken a few speed limits but the Mist Dakota had enveloped the comby in had helped from being pulled over.

They probably would have been shocked at seeing teenagers armed to the the teeth in metal weaponry and gear.

Dinner was quiet as Shirou whipped up a quick repast of steak and potatoes.

As they ate they all kept glancing at the cook until he finally had enough.

"Look," he said pushing his clean plate to the side, "I'm sorry for saying all that I did, but I hated people disrespecting my father without knowing the full story. Let's just forget it ever happened." he suggested, knowing that it was futile.

"Hardly something to forget, my friend," said a uncharacteristically somber Will.

"Yeah, I mean," said Frank, "I knew us halfbloods had it tough with the monsters and all but that guy seemed to have more bad luck than even the worst of us."

Shirou quirked his lips a bit.  
"I know some that had even worse luck."

"I'll believe that when I see it." grunted Clarisse as she eased back in her chair from the filling meal.

Reyna however was quiet as they all had been. Her thoughts shifting through the story and asked a question that had the Greeks alert and the Romans surprised.

"You are not from around here are you?" she questioned in a deliberate manner.

Shirou raised a slight brow before he barked a sharp laugh.

"You truly deserve your title as Praetor. But yes I was not raised in this dimension. How did you guess?"

Reyna blushed slightly at the praise but answered the question.

"Many things you mentioned in the story have no known existence here but Diana vouched for your truthfulness and the greeks of the party looked disbelieving but not completely. As if they knew the possibility of it being true but not wanting it to. 'Once all else is eliminated, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth'."

"Sherlock Holmes." Shirou said appreciatively.

She nodded back.

"Another question I have to ask is how you obtained the weapon you used against the armoured demon?"

Shirou went rigid. A question, so important but so sensitive deserved an answer but how to explain it.

"What do ya mean, Praetor," asked Frank his baby face creased in puzzlement.

"Shirou has mentioned how powerful the weapon was. I highly doubt that it was kept on display somewhere or that he found it when it was lost to the ages."

"The lady makes a good point," Will spoke as he took a long draught of water, "We have even seen him make that spear that you used to slay that nightmare of a drakon, Clarisse," he ended gesturing towards the now interested child of Ares.

Shirou looked around at a attentive table before he sighed deeply.

In for a penny, in for a pound he thought resigned.

"I have explained to my fellow Greeks that I have faced an avatar/ manifestion/ incarnation or what have you of Angra Mainyu before. What I didn't explain was the exact circumstances."

To his now very interested audience he explained.

"In the other realm there is a phenomenon called the Throne of Heroes. When someone has achieved such reknown in their life that, when they pass on, instead of going into the cycle of reincarnation, they are elevated to pseudo-forces of nature called Heroic Spirits. The likes of Hercules, Julius Caesar, Hector, Morgana Le Fay, Medea, Charlemagne and Sigurd are counted among their number. As long as their fame or infamy resound through the ages, their tales told in story and song, they enter the Throne. These spirits are shaped by the belief and knowledge that the mortal realm has of them. Heracles, as strong as he was in life, would be much stronger as a Heroic Spirit and the belief in his strength makes him stronger still."

He took a deep breath as he dropped the bombshell to the somewhat confused audience.

"The ritual used to incarnate Angra Mainyu required many Heroic Spirits being summoned."

The reaction was gaping amazement but before they started shouting he held up his hand to continue.

"The idea of the ritual was a wish granting device. To create the wish it required a large amount of power and access to the Root, also known as the Akasha from where al knowledge past, present and future resides. To make this possible spiritual containers were created and Heroic Spirits were summoned into them. In order for them to remain on the mortal plane they needed a link. An anchor. Thus a magus was able to bind a Heroic Spirit with a special seal. Then the battle commenced among the Spirits until only was left standing to be granted a wish."

Here he closed his eyes in rememberance as the others looked at him in shock. Their minds were blown at the possibility of summoning heroes.

"When they fought it was like nothing you could imagine. The weakest of the summoned Heroic Spirits, call Servants, were at least ten times stronger than any normal human. Their speed was unseen to normal eyes, they could take hits that could level buildings in a blow and deal out such in return. This was not a battle, this was a war of natural forces, of monsters. This was the Holy Grail War."

He looked intently at the now frightened group.

"But what the battle came down to and why I have that weapon and others is because of a Heroic Spirits trump cards. The symbol of their legend. The personification of the feats they achieved. Their Noble Phantasms."

His hand glowed white and a sword suddenly appeared. It was shaped like a sickle and had a long hilt and pure grey blade.

"This is Harpe. One of the Noble Phantasms of Perseus the Serpent Slayer. Its particular gift is the ability to ignore armour and the 'Refraction of Divinity' essentially a wound given by this cannot be healed except by natural means. Spells, potions, blessings or even normal medicine. None of them can accelerate the body's processes to aid the healing of the wound."

They all stared at the blade in disbelief. Such a power was rather frightening.

Shirou then shattered it and went on, wishing nothing more than rest.

"When my sister and I were chosen for the last war the grail or the wishing device was starting to overload from the unreleased power the previous four grail wars. With the manipulation of Angra Mainyu instead of the normal seven servants summoned a much larger number were called." he paused here awaiting the question he knew would come.

The daughter of Bellona was rigid in disbelief. To think such a thing had existed even in a different dimension was shocking and more than a bit frightening. The thought of such an event happening here was enough to break even her Roman composure.

Will interrupted her rambling thought with the dreaded question.

"How many?" he said in a small voice overwhelmed much like the others.

"Fifty seven in total."

The comby almost rocked at the lurches back in sheer disbelief. Fifty seven beings that were just short of the gods fight it out in a free for all on the mortal plane. It was insane.

"I faced many of them in battle along side my own partner and my sister's Servant. In the end both of those sacrificed themselves to weaken the Dark God by a small amount. Not much but enough. Enough to give me a fighting chance to destroy it. And I did." Shirou finished as he moved away from the table.

He stopped just short of the bedroom he would sleep in and looked at them all, their faces showing noting but the extreme shock of such a revelation.

"Get some sleep. We will be at the Liberty Memorial tomorrow. And I think welcome will be far from ideal."

Those were the last words said that night as they all turned in. Their minds numb at the thought of what Shirou had revealed.

The daughter of Bellona frowned as she tried to get comfortable. The thoughts that ran through her mind at this time mirrored the others.

Who had he fought? Who was his partner?

Who is he?

Sorry for the chapter but I needed the group to know most Shirou's background. Further revelation on the AU Fifth and Final Grail War will come in snippets. A question though. Would you like me to give you guys a list of the Servant participants and make a profile for each of them and post it in a chapter? Let me know.


	14. Stone of Heroes

Thank you all for the reviews. To litewarrior yes Shirou may be powerful to Mary Sue level with a few tricks he still has hidden (foreshadowing) but as the quest progresses the enemies will get stronger to the point of smashing him down. I will try to tone him down a bit but we will see. Thanks to all who pointed out kill 10 to save 1 mistake. It is now fixed.  
Enjoy the chapter folks.

Chapter 14

Stone of Heroes

Kansas City  
United States  
Monday, February 7, 2010  
8:00am

The late winter chill bit the air as people getting ready for work moved quickly to avoid it.

One man dressed in a black trench coat and black beanie did not.

He sat on a bench gently sipping a hot coffee and feeding the fish in a small pond with the bag of crumbs at his side. Looking all the while as if he was an elderly man watching the day go by.

He remained that way for a time before he seemed to freeze like a dog sensing its prey. His head moved to the west and stared blankly into the distance. He stood up and casually tossed the bag and cup in a nearby bin before meandering off. As he did so the sun lit up his face and showed, if anyone had been paying attention to this ordinary man, a few interesting features.

A face covered in a patchwork of scars.

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The Quest was a little better after their somewhat restless sleep the night before and eager to get down to business. After a quick breakfast they had driven off and soon arrived in Kansas City and soon after the Liberty Memorial.

As they all got out a brief glare of gold removed the comby from sight.

They all glanced at the sheepish culprit.

"I didn't want to pay parking charges." Shirou said rubbing his hair in embarassment.

They all smirked and started walking into the Liberty Memorial.

It was a peaceful place, giving off an air of respect and slight sorrow. This was especially poignant as the stepped across the glass bridge and saw all the red poppies indicating the brave lives lost. Even the normally rude and boisterous Clarisse was quiet at that moment, taking in the environment.

Shirou looked sadly at the poppies. One thousand in all, each representing nine thousand deaths in combat during World War One, the supposed 'War to end all Wars'. Shirou shook his head at such naivety.

"Well," said Will, looking at their glorious leader, "How do we want to do this?"

Shirou frowned for a moment and looked at his second and raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to proceed.

Reyna blinked in surprise at being given command and nodded in respect to Shirou.

"We'll go in three teams. Nico, Hazel and Will in one. You guys take a look in the museum.  
Frank, Clarisse and Dakota, look into the tower itself. Myself and Shirou will go look at the northern part of the place. Understood?"

They all nodded and separated into the teams and left.

Shirou and Reyna started walking before Shirou suddenly paused and looked around.

Reyna noticed.

"Something wrong," she questioned seeming idly, while actually tense and finger her ring ready for her spear to spring.

Shirou looked hard around again, his eyes slowly turning a metallic colour to the daughter of Bellona's surprise.

Shirou let his eyes rove over the area before he let his eyes return to their normal sea green.

"I guess it was nothing." he said as he turned and strode off with the Praetor close behind.

Had they stayed a moment more they may have seen a bald man wearing a trenchcoat and black sunglasses step from behind the corner.

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Nico trailed behind the bickering duo of Will and Hazel.

"How can you not like surfing?" Will said his voice incredulous, "The fight between the waves and the wind and only your board to use to go into battle...There's nothing like it."

"Riding is better," Hazel retorted, "With skill you can go faster, the wind whipping through your hair, the heavy feel of hooves pounding the earth. If you can find me anything better, I'll eat my sword."

"Philistine," Will grunted out in frustration.

"Surf bum," Hazel returned, her golden eyes flashing.

"Enough!" Nico whispered harshly, causing both to pull back, "Let's just keep searching."

Two glanced at Nico's darkening features and nodded quickly and went back to looking around.

They had by now reached the memorabilia gallery and started reaching out with their senses. A deity's presence was unmistakable to those who had experienced one.

But there was none there.

They all looked around once more.

"Well, I'm seeing absolutely nothing, what about you guys?" Will asked only to receive shaking heads in the negative.

Nico sighed in annoyance at finding a distinct lack of divine intervention on this quest.

Well, positive intervention was lacking. Negative, not so much.

Nico suddenly stiffened slightly. His deathly senses screaming.

It was only this that allowed him to dodge the flying dagger.

Nico dropped into a roll on instinct and the dagger smashed into an exhibit causing the glass display casing to shatter and then sprang back to his feet. Will and Hazel reacted quickly with Hazel's spatha swatting two more of the deadly implements out of the air. Will merely dodging the knives and caught them by the handles as they passed him, his reflexes and marksmanship allowing such a move, leaving him now armed and dual wielding the daggers. As one they all looked at the assailant.

A tall figure crouched lazily in a niche above the large bronze doors his hand still extended from the throws. Wearing a very deep purple body suit and a skull like mask, the attacker cut a strange figure.

His aura, however, belied such an observation.

Nico felt like he wanted to vomit. The sheer amount of pain and death coming of their attacker making even the son of Hades, who had walked through the Fields, feel like a new born child before a great tiger.

They didn't have a prayer, Nico thought frantically, This guy is on a whole other level.

"Who are you?" Will yelled out whilst keeping his daggers defensive and ready to move at a moments notice, "What do you want?"

The figure leaned forward slightly and tilted its head slightly like an eagle would eye its prey before chuckling with honest mirth and answering.

"Call me Patchwork," it spoke in a masculine voice cheerfully, "And your deaths would be a good start."

With that said he fell towards the floor before flipping to land in a crouch and just as quickly leaping towards them daggers flying in advance and two more in his hands.

Nico, Hazel and Will then prepared for a fight for their lives.

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Clarisse growled in irritation at the length of the queue to go up the top of the Memorial Tower.

Dakota laughed lightly before bringing his flask to his vampire red lips.

"Ease up, Clarisse," Frank said, "Just be patient."

"Patience is not my strong point, Baby Face," she snapped.

Frank face turned a shade of red in anger and was going to retort before Dakota nudged in the ribs causing him to take a deep breath and relax slightly.

"Try not to pick fights would you, darlin'? " Dakota drawled with a mocking edge to his tone, "try to get along instead and save your strength and anger for when we need it."

Clarisse's eyes seemed to burn for a moment as she stared at the audacious son of Bacchus. Then she merely rolled her eyes and grumped.

"Fine," she grumbled in a low tone and went back to waiting, impatiently.

Apparently the elevator to the top was bigger than she thought as, not ten minutes later, she was ascending with her partners.

The view up here in her opinion was quite excellent. A clear field of vision and plenty of open space. Perfect sniper position.

"Why would this Mithras be up here anyway?" she asked as her eyes trailed around looking for something out of the ordinary but remaining discreet so as not to alarm the mortals.

Dakota took a drink from his flask before answering.

"Mithras is the God of Warriors. Not war, but the warriors themselves. Those that stood up and protected what was theirs to the bitter end. This is a place of respect for warriors who fell in the line of duty and was from what I heard through the grapevine personally backed by him. This particular structure was dedicated to him by his son Harold Van Buren Magonigle who had also designed it. The tower was made to be a torch, one of the symbols of Mithras."

Clarisse grunted in understanding as she kept looking. Though something twigged senses but she couldn't figure out what.

Frank Zhang was the first to notice it.

"Uhh, guys?" he called as he quickly grabbed his dragon tooth spear that his father had given him some months ago, "We've got company."

The others turned, reaching for their weapons as they also noticed the distinct lack of mortals and the being that stood threateningly in front of them.

It was large, maybe seven and a half feet with slavering leonine head. The obscenely bulging muscles of its broad frame was covered in a blood matted coat of fur and was completely naked showing off its masculinity, much to Clarisse's disgust.

It growled a bloodthirsty chuckle as it crouched slightly on its somewhat thin legs before leaping at them with an almighty roar, its clawed hands extended.

As she set herself, Clarisse's thoughts were unhappy with the situation. It was between them and the door to go inside and they had their backs to open air. One wrong move and they would step back into the abyss and plummet to their deaths.

It almost made her want to curse.

A second roar caused her to glance to her right as they were able to fend off the first charge. A twin of the creature they were fighting charged them in tandem with the original.

The air turned blue with the daughter of Ares' language.

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The two leaders of the quest quietly walked to the northern area all the while keeping their eyes open for unnatural occurrences.

It wouldn't do to be caught off guard after all.

As they did so the Praetor glanced sideways at the strange son of Poseidon and asked a question that bothered her.

"I am aware that you came back to this dimension but how did you leave it in the first place?" she questioned.

Shirou shrugged.

"Your guess would be better than mine, all that I know is a portal wrapped in green lightning was what I remember going into and arriving elsewhere."

She reluctantly nodded in assent as they soon came to the Great Frieze.

It was a wonderful work of art but it did not describe the glory of war but rather its aftermath and the grim determination a soldier needed.

Shirou smiled sadly.

"If more people were to understand the meaning of this piece I believe that some wars may never have happened." he said in a soft voice.

The beautiful warrior woman raised an eyebrow.

Catching the expression he explained.  
"The man who did this understood what war was. Evil."

The daughter of Bellona looked angered and went to object but was held off by his next comments.

"Whether it was a necessary evil or not. Whether the actions were righteous or not. War is still a horrible thing. The thing we call victory... its nothing more than a crime paid for by the pain of the defeated."

He sighed sadly as he looked with tired eyes at the indignant Roman.

" I have no desire to step on your beliefs but tell me this. Have you seen war? True war? Thousands against thousands in constant engagement to the point that corpses are stacked yards high for months or even years on end? Where your allies slowly dwindle until your the last left standing? Where the enemy has no care for your life or the life of innocents stuck in between the struggle?"

Reyna's glare softened slightly as she thought.

"No but I don't believe that war is evil. Undesirable perhaps but sometimes it is the only option," she said fiercely.

The swordsman chuckled grimly.

"True enough. Sometime it is the only option," he admitted, "But just as equally people choose the dumbest of reasons to fight and a sword once drawn is difficult to sheath and that escalates a situation."

"Well spoken," said a voice close to them causing them to turn around.

They quickly stepped back as the man was less than an inch from their faces and took him in with hands on their weapons or ready to Trace.

He was maybe six feet in height with deep black hair set in an odd shaped pompadour. His eyes were a soft blue and looking at them in slight curiosity and respect.

Shirou honestly thought he looked a Smurf without the blue skin.

"War is truly a terrible thing, much like the truth. It is for these reasons that I stand guard over such," The man spoke eloquently.

The pair twigged and quickly bowed.

"Lord Mithras." They said respectfully.

The god smiled and nodded and gestured for them to rise.

As they did so Shirou looked at the man- no god- before him with a jaundiced eye.

He looked tired and resigned, as if the weight of the world was upon his shoulders and would not be putting it down anytime soon.

Mithras looked the pair in the eyes.

"Your words are wise and experienced, young one. Have you truly seen war?"

Shirou nodded solemnly, his eyes filled with shadows and old grief.

Mithras chuckled bitterly.

"Someone of your age knows the truth of battle, whereas when I took my role as a god of warriors I had no clue and paid for it." Mithras then sighed heavily.

"Still, this is not the reason you came here. What do you need?"

Shirou and Reyna looked at each other before Shirou shrugged and bluntly answered.

"We think that Angra Mainyu and Gaia have teamed up,"

The reaction from the deity was not welcoming.

His body went stiff and his eyes burned with a blue fire and his face twisted into a snarl of rage and hate.

He wasn't happy.

"Are you sure?" He questioned tightly, a little frission of fear flitting across his face.

"We have faced an armour skinned demon called Fulad-Zereh in New Rome. You tell me." Reyna said caustically, her memories of the encounter fresh and unwelcome in her mind.

Mithras hissed in frustration, his whole frame shaking in anger and slight fear.

"He can't be freed. Just working together with Gaia is an extreme emergency. if he is freed then the Olympians can kiss this world and themselves goodbye." He growled before calming.

Shirou saw his chance for information and jumped at it.

"Part of the prophecy we had said something about keys." He commented watching Mithras sharply for any reaction.

He did not disappoint.

Mithras seemed to pale and sway slightly before straightening back up.

"Long ago when Angra Mainyu was imprisoned by Ahura Mazda, The Lord of light, four keys were made to ensure that the prison stayed closed. The first was a sword. Able to cut anything in its path, even time and space itself. The second was a book. It was said to show only the truth and no lie could be made before it. The third was a great spear, able to kill any enemy be it man, beast, monster or god. The last item was the door to the prison itself crafted into an urn that could hold anything within its confines and released into the world again save for the prisoner." The deity then seemed to take a deep breath.

"The urn became known as a pithos. The pithos of Pandora herself."

Shirou twitched and groaned causing the other two to look at him.

"Let me guess they need all four gathered together to release the bastard, yeah?"

Mithras before he expanded on the statement.

"Yes they would but they also need to do it in a specific place at a specific time."

"Dare I ask?" The praetor asked dryly her annoyed.

"The equinox of either spring or autumn in the old kingdom of Persia or considering the alliance with Gaia the foot of Mt. Olympus."

Shirou shook his head in annoyance.

"So we basically have about two months to save the world?" He questioned.

Mithras nodded.

"Where can we find the keys?" Reyna asked intent on finding a solution to the problems that plagued them.

"Yes, do tell." a voice drawled in malicious pleasure.

They looked at the source of the voice to see a large red lion the size of a jeep with a man's face and a long barbed tail looking at them in hunger.

The thoughts that went through the demigods minds at that moment were pretty much four letters long and very loud.

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The battle was not going well for the demigods.

The man called Patchwork was ridiculously fast and agile. Attacks that would have hit others he had just bent his body around them.

When he had thrown his daggers he had then closed the distance between himself and Nico. Nico had blocked the blades flying toward with his sword only to have a knee slammed into his gut a moment later and was sent flying into the wall and unconscious.

Will and Hazel had then taken the chance to close in and there the man showed his skill. He bent and twisted and turned and dodged all the blows as if it were child's play. Never stopping for a moment and always moving.

But also not attacking.

Will finally had enough this mocking man and tossed aside the daggers and pulled his bow and rapidly fired it. Patchwork swiftly retreated but was forced to run into a corner of the room.  
"Gotcha," whispered Will as he loosed another arrow straight at his still moving target, sure that it will hit.

Then things went nuts.

The man kept running to the wall and then up the wall.

Will, Hazel and a just waking Nico stared agape at this man treating the wall and now ceiling as if it were the sidewalk.

The man stared down at them through his skull mask and gave a mocking golf clap.

"Bravo, young heroes. You are all quite skilled, however I think it is to put an end to this charade."

So saying the air became filled with the smell of ozone as Patchwork's left arm crackled with raw power.

Nico sweated feeling like this was Zeus' master bolt rather than Thalia's. He quickly moved.

"Bai-Bai," the skull masked man mocked in a baby voice as the lightning screamed towards them.

But it was too late.

Nico had grasped his companions and fled into his shadow leaving the bolt to hit the floor with a horrendous boom and a lot of dust and debris.

Patchwork grinned slightly as he succeeded in his mission.

"Now I just have to follow them," he said to himself as he moved off.

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Atop the tower two forces struggled for dominance. One was made of demigods, the other of mad beasts.

Although the girl of the group could fill both roles.

"Aaaaaaagh!" She yelled incoherently as she pushed back another heavy claw swipe.

These beasts just kept attacking. They didn't defend, only dodged as they came forward to strike them again and again. Like the waves pounding the rocks.

Dakota's sword and shield were keeping one at bay but he kept retreating step by step. His blows were becoming weaker and his defence slow but solid. At last the two combatants reached the edge at Dakota's back. Sensing victory the beast made a pounce towards the raised shield of the child of Bacchus with a howl of delight.

It was the last thing it would do.

Dakota straightened up and smirked, his strength back as he caught the beast on his shield, grunting at the weight before rolling awkwardly backward into the guardrail that stopped him from falling.

The beast wasn't so lucky.

Dakota grinned slightly as heard the howl of fear abruptly cut off.

The two children of war were facing the other and putting on a good display of teamwork. When Clarisse advanced to attack it, Frank would swat the blows that it made at her aside. She would take a quick hit and dart back and then change positions with Frank.

Rinse and repeat.

Eventually they were able to back it into the door to the stairwell. In unison they charged forward, ducking under the wild swipe and pierced through the torso with their spears. It grunted slightly before convulsing and turning to black dust.

The two siblings grinned slightly and high fived.

"Hate to break up the party," Dakota spoke as he moved toward them, "but where there is one monster there are others. So we had better find the others and leg it."

Nodding they all quickly left.

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Reyna and Shirou stared at the manticore.

"My lord Mitra," the monster said mockingly, "it has been a long time."

"Not long enough," Mithras growled as his form flickered a moment.

The monster laughed in honest amusement.

"Still angry about your dead daughter," he taunted.

Mithras hissed in hate, wanting nothing more than to rip it to shreds and cursed that he could not due to ancient laws.

The manticore turned its attention to the demigods.

" I am giving you this one chance to surrender. If you do not, you and your compatriots will die," the beast stated smugly.

Shirou just looked at the animal in disbelief before snorting.

"You can take that pretty little offer and shove it up your pustule ridden arse." He said bluntly as Reyna nodded in affirmation a smirk at the taunt on her lips.

The beast growled and leapt at them before the sound of metal meeting flesh echoed around them.  
The manticore stared in disbelief at the sword that stuck through its chest that he had not even seen. He kept staring as he quickly faded into gold dust.

Reyna glanced reproachfully at Shirou who had his arm extended from throwing the sword.

"What? We have more important things to attend to." He responded to her glare.

Mithras blinked before chuckling slightly.

"Your an entertaining young man." He said before he got serious again, "the keys are scattered all over the world and some are lost. I don't know where they are exactly but I can give you an idea. The spear is in England lost upon a battlefield centuries ago. They already have the pithos. The sword is somewhere in old Persia and the book was burned during the fall of Rome."

They gaped slightly before Shirou bluntly asked the question on their mind.

"So how do we find the book then? If it was burned then that's it right."

"Not exactly. The book of truth was spoken and inscribed along time ago. Now lacking a physical vessel it will return to the mind of an appropriate individual. I suggest you ask your twin about her one eyed friends winged companion."

Nodding at the words given they quickly gave their goodbyes and left the god to his thoughts.

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When they all met back in the entrance hall Nico yelled.

"We've got to go. Fast!"

Seeing the look in his eyes, Shirou didn't argue and moments later they were flying down the road in the comby.

Shirou out of the corner of his eye, glimpsed a skull masked figure that tried to catch them but he put the hammer down and he was soon lost to sight.

Shirou frowned.

Why did he look so familiar?

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Well folks how did you,like the chapter. Also I will not be able to do a chapter a day anymore as I've got to sort out the plot and by popular demand create the profiles for,the servants in the HG war and post them. This will start next chapter. TTFN.


	15. The Patchwork Assailant

Het folks. Thanks for all the reviews. I have reached the hundred mark and beyond. (cabbage patch dance). Just so you all know I will start placing servant profiles on the end of a chapter. Just so you know some will be pretty obscure. Enjoy the ride.

Chapter 15

The Patchwork Assailant

Mt. Olympus  
New York  
Monday, February 7, 2010  
9:00am

Zeus sat on his throne in deep thought.

The current crisis was not one he had encountered before.

With the Second Titanomachy he knew the enemies plans and eventual goals but with this enemy, he had no such luxury and it worried him greatly.

The clicking of heels interrupted his turbulent thoughts. Glancing up he beheld his beautiful wife, Hera. She was frowning in slight confusion and worry. As if some news had arrived that she had no idea what to make of.

"Something wrong, my love?" he spoke softly.

Hera grimaced slightly.

"Quite," she growled in annoyance, "the enemy is moving fast. They were able to attack the current questors but were either killed or their targets escaped. The good news is that they were able to get the information from the old warrior."

Zeus nodded firmly. The more they knew, the better they could act in the quest.

Zeus frowned slightly again as a thought flashed.

"Have we learned for about the young man?" he asked not needing to name names.

Hera nodded.

"We were able to identify his unique gift," she paused a moment before chuckling, "the particulars of the gift have Hephaestus wanting to drag him to his forge for a talk and Ares scream in frustration or fight him himself."

Zeus raised his eyebrows into his hairline at the mirth in his queen's voice.

"He apparently is able to copy weapons to the point of them retaining the magical effects they have. I have personally seen him produce a copy of Harpe."

Zeus looked stunned and asked in confirmation.

"My son Perseus' blade?"

Hera lost some of her previous mirth at the mention of one of his numerous infidelities but nodded all the same and expanded her statement.

"Apparently someone was messing about with the spirit world in the other realm and they were summoning heroes of old to fight in a tournament to the death. The weapons they had were symbols of their legend that represent a feat or achievement that had done or were reputed to have done called Noble Phantasms."

The king of the gods slowly digested such an ability and was somewhat worried as to the exact limits of the gift. Another thought flickered.

"And my brother's reaction," he inquired smirking.

Hera giggled.

"He looks half way between stunned mullet and pufferfish."

Zeus boomed in laughter at the picture of it in his mind before he sobered.

"And the quest's movements now?" he asked in apprehension.

"Heading to the International Airport and probably about to request clearance from yourself."

Zeus frowned slightly not liking to let them go into the sky but saw the bigger picture.

"For the duration of the quest they may have passage through my realm, so long as they show the proper respect."

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Kansas City International Airport  
Bunk rooms  
Monday, February 7, 2010  
1:30pm

"Yes sir. Thank you."

The phone clicked back onto it's hook.

Shirou looked around the room after call and took in some the bumps and scrapes they had. Nothing serious, the worst was Nico with a lingering headache and a bruised gut. The ambrosia was healing it up even now.

"Right we're booked onto the next flight to Britain, which is at 10pm tonight and check in at 9pm." he announced.

They all nodded in acknowledgement.

"Now before we all get some shut eye, I need details, Nico." he said looking directly at the child of Hades, "What the hell caused you to panic and book it?"

Nico growled.

"The bastard we were facing was ten different types of bullshit. His speed and reactions were bordering ridiculous, his strength was not bad either, he could run on the vertical and upside down. The worst thing was that he was making a lightning bolt in his left hand that might have equaled one of Zeus' lesser ones. I made the decision and got us outta there before one of us got killed after he quit playing around." he half snarled, bitter at such a move.

The Romans frowned slightly in disapproval but Shirou nodded.

"Good call," he said to many one's surprise, "You judged the situation and got your team members out before losses could be incurred. That counts for a lot of good things in my book."

"But I-" Nico started before being cut off.

"But nothing. In a situation where you had nothing to gain and a lot to lose retreating was the best option. It gives us intel on our opponent to destroy him with the next time we meet. And trust me, we will."

The Romans nodded quietly in understanding as did the rest of the Greeks.

Will was patting himself down looking for his wallet when his hand pressed against an object. Pulling it out he found it was one of the masked warriors knives.

"Yo, Shirou," he called getting everyone's attention, "I must have Hermes blood in me because I managed to filch the bastards knife by complete accident."

He held it up to Shirou and the rest. As the leader lay eyes on it his mind exploded causing him to drop with a cry.

Shocked they stood still a moment before Reyna flew forward and placed the thrashing man's head in her lap.

Shirou's mind at that moment was bloody chaos

_PainPainPain. I will slice you up. Place the skin on my face and-. Life is nice isn't it child. BloodBloodBlood. Thank for your gift of sight, boy. Such lovely feet you have. Strong of arm means strongly armed. I grasp the thunder of Heaven. REDREDREDRED._

Shirou exploded upwards with a choked off scream. The others leapt back at his violent reaction save for Reyna who held him down slightly.

"Calm down Shirou!" she barked as he twisted in her grip before slowing.

Shirou panted dripping with sweat and extremely pale.

"A bucket, quick," he croaked as he put his head between his knees.

One arrived almost instantly and the child of Poseidon began emptying his stomach.

The others looked on in concern and anxiously waited for Shirou to come around and explain his reaction.

Five minutes later the bucket was emptied, rinsed and put away. The group all stared at the still pale and shaken leader.

Shirou spoke firmly.

"If you ever come into contact with that skull masked man again, I want you to run. I don't care," he emphasised over the protest, " that it seems cowardly or stupid. That man is one the most dangerous predators I have ever met.

And we are his prey."

Shirou took a deep breath before continuing.

"Those tricks he pulled? They were the product of a deranged yet brilliant mind and centuries of tradition. He had those abilities because he stole them from their owners. The left arm of lightning? A son of Zeus' arm that he transplanted after killing him. Avoiding the attacks? Precognition granted by a son of Apollo's eye in his left socket. Wall running? He ripped the feet off a child of Hermes and left him to bleed out. His face? While you didn't see it, it came from a child of Aphrodite while she was still alive giving him a shape shifting ability in the facial structure. He had his sick fun with her after and then burnt her alive."

The group became increasing pale and ill at the descriptions he gave and Will looked murderous at the thought of a brother of his coming to harm and killed in such a manner

Shirou grimaced.

"He was also trained in stealth and assassination techniques. This guy won't fight you unless he wants to. He can ghost your ass before you even realise your dead."

Shirou glared at the dagger before reaching out and snapping it clean in half in disgust at such a tainted weapon.

"Watch each other's backs." he warned, " with this miserable son a bitch around nothing is sacred."

They all then left for bed before the flight, shaken and disturbed at the revelation.

Sleep did not come easy for many that afternoon.

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Shirou's head pounded in frustration as he looked for a rainbow to make a message to his sisters.

The past two days had been wearing on his nerves and he was a little bit tired and stressed and the memories in the dagger had not helped matters.

Finally out of anger he ripped Caladbolg from his mind as it gave off a rainbow.  
He tossed a drachma at the colours as spoke the words.

"Oh Goddess Iris, please accept my offering. Andromeda Jackson, Camp Half-Blood."

The drachma disappeared as a screen wavered into existence showing his sister sitting the Poseidon cabin and talking.

"Ilya, Anne," he called getting their attention, a smile on his face as he relaxed.

"Brother!" they both squealed.

"Hold up!" he barked causing them to stop, "I need to talk business first."

He turned to Anne who looked at him in question.

"Part of the quest we did mentioned I needed to ask you about a 'one-eyed friend's feathered companion'. Do you know what they are talking about?"

Anne nodded quickly.

"They're talking about our cyclops half brother's friend, a harpy named Ella." she answered swiftly.

Shirou looked surprised for a moment before nodding.

"Can you get a message to her? I need her to meet me in London."

"London!" his sisters yelled in surprise before he hushed them.

"Yes London. Can you do it?" he asked quickly.

His twin nodded slowly.

"Good. I really need to meet her in two days at the top of the Big Ben bell tower at 11:30am. That good?"

"Yeah that's good." she said reluctantly.

Shirou looked at his sisters sadly.

"If I could come home now, I would. But all hell is going to break loose if the quest doesn't succeed. We have a deadline of about two months before the everything goes belly up."

He looked at them seriously.

"Train hard. A storm is coming and I want you both prepared for it okay?"

The both nodded firmly in resolve.

"Alright," he sighed, "Good night."

"Good night," they sang as he let the sword fade and the connection with it.  
He stared at empty space for a moment before he meandered over to his bunk for some shut eye before the flight.

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Patchwork watched the late night flight leave for Heathrow through the glass at the terminal gates and chuckled slightly.

He didn't need to use a plane to get to London.

However it was now time to make a call.

Pulling his mobile he pressed the recall button and waited patiently as he moved out of the airport.

"What is it?" growled an unhappy voice on the other end.

"Just making a report, _sir_," Patchwork said making the title seem a slur.

Incoherent grumbling filled the line for a moment before he was asked to continue.

"The demigods just boarded a plane. It is scheduled to land Heathrow Airport, London."

A silence met his answer before his employer's voice came back traced with excitement.

"Truly?" the man questioned with glee in his tone.

"Yes," he replied crisply.

"Good," the man purred before pausing, "And can you make it to London in time to meet them?"

Patchwork chuckled darkly.

"Most certainly." he said smugly as he glanced at his stolen feet.

"Very well, I'll leave you to it." his employer finished and ended the call.

Smug bastard were Patchwork's thoughts.

Idly he looked around to see he was alone before focusing on his feet. They started to glow a tarnished gold that slowly covered his body. Then, with a flash, he was gone.

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Flight from Kansas City International to Heathrow  
Tuesday, 8 February, 2010  
12:30am

Shirou glanced at the apprehensive children of the Underworld.

They were visibly nervous, never having flown before and being in the domain of one of their father's greatest rivals.

"Relax," he spoke comfortingly, "I don't think Zeus is going to strike us down in such an important quest."

They both smiled weakly at his reassurance and slowly did so.

Reyna watched this intriguing man. He was so different from many she had met. He was disciplined much like a Roman but also knew how to let loose. He respected warriors but hated war unlike the children of the war god who protected Rome. He was fierce yet gentle with his friends.

All in all a strange man.

A strange man who now led them to the place of her ancestors.

She closed her eyes as she remembered that while being brought up in Puerto Rico and before she and her sister Hylla were captured by Circe, that her father told them stories of England. Of its people and buildings, seas and stones, hills and dales.

Warriors and Legends.

He always said to them on quiet humid nights before they slept.

_"Our forefathers were knights. No one knows for which King they bowed to or lands they held and protected or even their names. Our true name was long since lost but my father was told by his father who was told by his mother and so on through the ages. That we would find the our true name, our true heritage._

_And rulers would ride to battle on the fields we were born once more. That is why we took the name..._

_Caemlyn."_

How she missed those halcyon days. Not long after some of Circe's servants had abducted her and Hylla and slew their father as well.

She felt a nudge on her shoulder and opened her eyes to look into concerned sea green orbs.

"You alright?" he asked.

Blushing slightly she nodded without saying a word. He smiled slightly back and turned back to his book he was reading during the flight.

Reyna stared at him a moment more before closing her eyes to rest for the remainder of the flight.

The presence of the man beside her giving her comfort.

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Atlantis  
Present

The sound of rutting filled the air of the suite.

Amphitrite lay naked on her back as the devilish man Rihman took her hard and fast. He had grasped her breasts to the point of pain causing her to moan slightly as his slaw like nails dug in and drew ichor.

She loved every moment of it.

A partner who shared a liking of pain, both giving and receiving. A partner who enjoyed the scent of blood filling the air with a metallic taste.

A partner who enjoyed her toys.

A mortal child was strapped to the wall with spiked iron chains. His fear filled green eyes kept focused on the bed. His naked body covered in burns, cuts and bruises. His remaining black hair matted with blood from his scalp where large hunks of it had been torn out. He was unable to utter a word due to his lack of tongue.

The Queen of the Seas screamed in fulfillment as she climaxed. Her eyes focused on the boy and imagining her pathetic husband in his place.

His helpless form would be watching with grief as she enjoyed her time with this wonderful Persian man.

Before they both turned their attentions to a tied up daughter of the seas.

As she rested with her lover she drifted of sleep a wicked smile of her lips.

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Well how did you like the chapter. As promised here is the first profile I made for the Servants of the HG War.

Servant Rider  
Name: Diomedes  
Title: Destroyer of Thebes, Beloved of Athena  
Hair: Black  
Eyes: Dark Blue  
Height: 185cm  
Weight: 85kg

Strength B  
Agility B+  
Endurance B  
Mana B  
Luck B+  
Noble Phantasm A

Class Skills

Riding: B+

Magical Resistance: D+

Personal Skills

Mystic Eyes: B

Divinity: D  
He was worshipped as a god after a while but he had no divine heritage and the cult dwindled.

Military Tactics: B  
After various campaigns he was arguably the most experienced in warfare amongst the Greek generals during the Trojan War.

Bravery: B+  
He is granted extra against one of divine heritage.

Noble Phantasms

Bronze for Gold: A Masterful Exchange  
Anti-Unit  
B  
The famed Diomedan Swap where he was able to convince an enemy to swap his best armour for Diomede's worst armour.  
This allows for Diomedes to exchange one of his skills for the ability to claim one of his opponent's. This also includes Noble Phantasms. The catches are that it can only be skill for skill or NP for NP. Also the opponents skill or NP must be higher than the one exchanged. His can use the NP or skill he gains as if he were the original possessor. This can only be for a limited time due to the NP requiring constant upkeep.

Theophonos: Even Gods Can Bleed  
Anti-Unit  
B+  
A spear he used during the Trojan War. With it he achieved the unequal feat of wounding two Olympian deities within the same day. An ordinary greek spear with golden blood stains marking the point and haft.  
Passively the more divinity an opponent has the stronger it is and the more damage it can do. When activated it creates the concept of 'denial of divinity' thus allowing all NPs, spells, armour, curses etc of divine origin to be nullified and allow the spear to damage them. The catch being that the user must know of the origin of the targeted ability / person. To one without Divinity then it is a sharp spear only.

Pallas Athene: Riding on Celestial Winds  
Anti-Army  
A  
A chariot pulled by two white horses of Rhesus and two horses of semi-divine stock that he stole from Aeneas. Athena herself served as his driver for a time and protected him, whilst invisible, against Ares spear and directing his own.  
The premise of the chariot is based on wind. Both pairs of horses were aligned with the wind in some way ie from the stock of Zeus, King of the Sky or they were faster than the wind. It has the capability to fly and when summoned and drawn it becomes as if made of solid air and the winds strip and cut all before it. As a bonus all projectiles are diverted from him and if he makes his own then it will get an increase in accuracy and power. Allso increases agility.

Mystic Eyes of Divine Authority  
Anti Unit  
B  
A set of Mystic Eyes granted by Athena. It was said to have allowed him to distinguish Man from God.  
In this case the higher ones or objects ties to Divinity then the more information he will have on them. He is also able to grant the concept of 'divine / holy' upon an inanimate object. Thus giving it the ability to wound spiritual entities.

Hope you all enjoyed thi. Please review.


	16. Walking the Battlefields

Hey folks. Thanks for all the reviews. to kroz phantomville, thankyou for guessing correctly that Percy/Shirou can trace the gods symbols of power due to his own divine blood. However there will be limitations on how he can do this.  
Now on with the show.

Chapter 16

Walking the Battlefields

Marriott Hotel  
London  
Tuesday, February 8, 2010  
11:00am

The group gathered around the table in the hotel. Upon it was a map of England with red pins on it that represented battlefields.

It was depressingly full.

"This map," Shirou explained, "represents all of the major battlefields that took place on English soil starting from the early 1500s and going backward at least two millennia."

He looked at the now daunted gathering of brave demigods.

"Where do we start?"

Will groaned and banged his head against the table.

"We may as well die here," said Dakota, taking a long swig from his flask, "we will never be able to find the Styx-damned spear in that bloody haystack."

Clarisse and her Roman brother nodded agreement.

Hazel looked uncertain while her brother scowled in annoyance and held his still injured side.

"Maybe. Maybe not," spoke Reyna, drawing the groups collective attention to her.

She looked around the room as an idea popped into her agile mind.

"We know this spear is powerful and has been around a long time. What if the spear became a legendary weapon?"

The others mulled it over.

"It fits," Nico grunted, "we are talking about a super weapon of some variety. It wouldn't surprise me if it came up somewhere in the history books."

"So," expanded the Praetor, "we need to find a spear that was renowned for its ability to kill and may have made it to the British Isles."

She looked at the present weapons expert.

"What do you think?"

Shirou frowned for a moment.

"There are several strong spears in myths and legends. The arguably most famous would be the Longinus Spear that slayed Jesus Christ. It was supposedly done by a Roman soldier."

The Roman contingent all shook their heads as did Nico.

"That was actually a child of Pluto that was conceived by immaculate or artificial insemination," said Hazel her face grave, "the tricks he did were made by prayers to different deities so as to hide certain events from the eyes of mortals."

Shirou's eyes widened and he started coughing heavily before stopping. His eyes filled with mirthful tears he explained.

"If the Vatican back home knew that they would all flip." he chuckled before he shifted back to the original topic.

"Another spear would be Ascalon, the spear of St. George who slew the dragon. Gungnir, the spear of Odin said to always strike its target and always kill. In Irish myth is where you'll find most famous spears. Gae Bolg, the spear of Cu Chullain that always sought the heart and any wound from it would not heal. Gae Assail, spear of Lugh, the Celtic god of Light and Craft, that would if the word 'yew' was spoken to it would strike the opponent dead and return to the user's hand. Luin of Celtchair, one of the four great treasures of the Tuatha de Naan, that was so poisonous that even to wield it was dangerous. There are many others."

The others stared at him agog at the plethora of information that he provided.

Shirou shrugged.

"I like my weapons."

The others chuckled slightly before Nico broke in.

"I think the best we can do is wait to speak to the harpy tomorrow. If we jump the gun here it is game over before we can backstep to fix it."

They all nodded as Shirou moved to roll the map back up.

Hazel had a sudden brainwave and brought her hands down on the table with a loud and echoing smack.

"Hold it!" she almost yelled, "We're looking at this the wrong way."

After seeing she had their undivided attention she quickly went on.

"We are so focused on finding the spear that we didn't consider if the enemy is close to it."

The others bar Shirou, whose eyes along with Reyna's dawned in comprehension,looked confused until Shirou finished the train of thought.

"Why hunt the prey when we can hunt the hunters and steal the prey from them. If the enemy has been working for as long as suspected then they probably have a good idea where it is and if they use a monster workforce..."

"Then the local monster would have heard about it and know where they are." Reyna completed the thought her mind running a mile a minute.

Will laughed and chuckled while the children of war grinned along with a slightly drunk Dakota.

"Well done," Nico praised his blushing sister and patting her firmly on the back.

"Okay, new plan," Shirou said firmly, "Tonight we can start turning this city upside down for monsters. The aim is to capture them alive but don't risk yourselves. If they are too strong or wild either get away or kill them capture is a luxury. There is also that bastard Patchwork," he said almost spitting the name to the suddenly somber group, " to deal with. Chances are either him or his employers have made it possible for him to arrive here. I reiterate my previous advice. You see him, you run like your feet were given wings. Rendezvous with either the other group or get back to the room. Before we leave I will set up a spell of sanctity. Nothing of ill intent can enter so long as the ones inside do not attempt to attack any outside it. It will be keyed to ourselves so the only thing needed to activate it is for one of us to cross the threshold. Are my words clear to all of you?"

The rest of the group all nodded in assent.

"The teams will be in groups of four. For the sake of being easy it will be Romans and Greeks. We will leave at sunset and return at midnight. Remember capture is a luxury and may not be needed once we speak to our winged informant." he said completing the brief.

"Now get some shut eye. We have had a long flight and I have the feeling it will be a long night. I will wake you up a hour before sunset so we can have a quick meal and then we hunt."

They grinned and nodded and started moving off to the sleeping quarters,

All save Reyna and Shirou.

Reyna watched as the man seemingly ignored her presence and began to make gestures with his hands around the room as he began to glow. As he did so a feeling of peace and safety began to settle around her. As if she were behind stout and tall stone walls and the enemy before her was only a lame rabbit.

Complete overkill.

With a final clap of his hands the glow expanded to walls of the hotel room and quickly faded leaving only a dim echo of the feelings she had felt.

Shirou sighed in slight tiredness and mopped his sweating brow. No matter how often he used it or how good he was, Runecraft would never feel as natural to him as his own sword gifts were. Because of that alien feeling it was harder to convince himself it was possible for runes to make such things happen and thus more effort and power was required.  
As he slumped onto the couch a glass of water was held in front of him in a delicate seeming hand. Glancing up he saw the beautiful face of the daughter of Bellona. He gratefully accepted the glass and downed it quickly.

"Thanks," he said as he placed it on the coffee table in front of him.

"I haven't seen you so tired after using a spell before," she spoke, her tone questioning.

Shirou shrugged at her.

"Most forms of magic are pretty specialised. Like an artist some magi are good at one type but are not as good at the others. I'm a pretty extreme example of that. Branches of Faking, which is the manifestation of items through use of prana and various other things, and Runecraft are pretty much the only types I know. Thankfully Runecraft is a very versatile form, so I'm not a one trick pony."

Reyna nodded slightly and looked out the window with a small satisfied smile upon her face.

Shirou noticed as he stood to wash the glass.

"Find something?" he questioned with a raised brow from the small kitchenette.

"Hmmm," she hummed in agreement, "I've always dreamed of visiting England. Especially after all the stories my father told me about the country."

Shirou nodded in understanding.

"We all have dreams. Some we can fulfil easily enough with a little effort. Others are far more complex. Most of time, though, our parents views and beliefs shape those dreams. It is however up to us to walk the path to reach them."

Reyna nodded solemnly and simply stared out into the lightly snowing city. The dim sun glittering off the frozen crystals as they danced in the soft breeze.

With the person she had come to see as a friend standing behind her was a comfort to her.

A comfort that would be needed in these coming days.

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The sun had just vanished from the sky as the demigods set off into the cold winter's night.

The Romans had chosen to take the poorer districts of the city. While the Greeks headed towards the red light district.

Maybe not the smartest idea for the Greek's with a child of Phoebus 'Pretty-Boy' Apollo along.

SMACK!

"Ow!" cried Will as they traveled on.

"Think with the head on your shoulders not the one in your pants or I'll cut it off." growled a beet red faced Clarisse.

Will gulped and nodded frantically.

Nico and Shirou looked at each and shook their heads in exasperation. They were better able to ignore such antic from the residents through various means.

Soon Shirou subtly gestured for them to slow as he caught the scent of a monster over the sights, sounds and even smells of decadence and sin surrounding them. It smelt like a snake and misery.

Craning his head around, as his companions gathered closer and kept walking, he looked for the source. His eyes gradually scanned the crowd until it picked up on an odd woman. She had dark brown hair and a lithe build. Her jaded green eyes met his from across the street and time seemed to slow.

They recognised each other for what they were and knew what was about to happen. Her green eyes glinted with a malicious light as his own hardened and she jerked her head in the direction of the rooftops before shimmering out of existence.

"Get on to the rooftops," Shirou growled walking swiftly into an alley looking for a fire escape, "the monster is waiting for us there."

As the ladder was pulled down with a screech, Nico made his voice heard.

"Why would it wait or more importantly why are we suddenly walking into an ambush?" Nico questioned dryly, his voice traced with a hint of 'are you insane?'.

They pounded up the ladder to the rusted steel stairs as he answered.

"Most monsters, while they would ambush if given the option, prefer to challenge people like us. To show their true form and crush us at our full power." Shirou said as they arrived upon the roof, "It is a point of pride to them, like bragging rights."

"Quite true, young man." hissed a feminine voice causing them to turn to the source.

The brown haired woman that Shirou noticed from before now wore a tight black leather armour with various knives at her belt. It was also quite revealing.

SMACK!

"Ow! Dammit Clarisse," howled Will as he grasped his sore head once more.

"Just making sure your mind is on the job, Sunshine," Clarisse growled.

"Enough already," sighed Shirou tiredly before he looked at the monster woman apologetically, "Sorry for this comedy act but they sometimes have difficulty focusing."

The woman smiled ruefully.  
"Good help is hard to find now days," she sighed, "Unlike when I ruled, most people of these modern times are idolent, stupid and lazy."

"Tell me about it," Nico grunted. His time in the Underworld making him more experienced in mortal inadequacy.

"Still," the woman grinned widely showing all of her sharp teeth, "we are here to fight not to chat," she said as she clicked her fingers thrice.

Three clouds of golden Mist coalesced before her in shapes duplicate to her own.

"This shall even the odds, I think," she smirked before her face hardened, "Attack."

Her Mistform warriors sprinted towards the now tensed group of heroes as the original spat a word that sent a fireball towards them.

And so began the battle.

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The Romans strode along the cracked and splintered footpaths of the slums, their senses on the alert for signs of monsters.

They didn't have to look for long.

As they passed a refuse ridden alley, laughter, high and mocking, filled the night air and sent shivers down their collective spines.

"So come the brave children of Rome, seeking knowledge to prevent the world's end," chuckled a voice darkly.

Reyna and her legionnaires spun with weapons drawn to the source.

Sitting on a trash can, kicking his feet idly with his arms crossed and smug smirk on his rodent like features was the man. His beady brown eyes widened in glee as he looked at Frank.

"Oh ho!" he spoke leaping nimbly to his feet, "and a legacy of old Barnacle Beard as well. Such delight,"

His face became twisted in hate.

"Such delight, in stripping the flesh from your bones and sending it back to him."

Two black daggers appeared in his hands as he sprinted toward the bracing Romans.

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Clang! Clang! Tink!

"Oi! Watch your aim, Solace" cried Nico as an arrow launched by the son of Apollo barely missed him to hit the duplicate in an armour chink causing it to leap back.

"Alright alright! No need to twist in your grave, di Angelo," Will replied as he rolled backward to avoid a swarm of spears magically sent by the original.

"Shut up and fight the pair of you!" roared Clarisse as she pushed another duplicate out of a weapon lock and swung her spear into the figure's gut with great strength.

Strong enough to send it off the roof to the street below.

"Goodbye, Barbie," she spat as she ran to the aid of the child of Hades.

"Nice shot!" called Shirou as he and another magic doll danced a web of steel between them. His two married blades against the swift dual curved daggers of the doll.

He slowly edged the doll backward toward the woman that the weapons identified as a former Queen of Libya and daughter of Hecate, Lamia. Cursed by Hera to become a monster after accepting Zeus' advances. After also killing her children. In rage she sacrificed herself to cast a spell to allow all monsters to be able to sense demigods.

Why do the gods curse those who can bite back? he groaned in thought, as he dodged another stab before lopping of the arm and then spinning into her guard and letting his other blade slice deep in the heart of the Mistform and causing it to dissipate.

The others by this time were working on the final Mistform while dodging the various spell projectiles of the original Lamia. Suddenly, instead of leaping backward, Nico leapt forward and grasped the Mistform in a front bear hug and spun on his heels to toss the Mistform into the path of incoming fireball. It quickly dissipated with a cry.

Shirou moved blindingly fast at Lamia. His swords shattering as he ducked under the now frantic Queens swing and knelt in front of her with a bright crimson spear impaling her through the shoulder causing her to scream before he swung the spear sideways taking her to the ground and pinning her there.

Lamia frantically tried to send a spell at this frightening boy only to fail. She tried again and again as the others all grouped around herwith weapons pointing at her vitals.

"Raaargh!" she screamed in fear and frustration as her magic still failed to heed her call, "what did you do you bastard?"

"The spear that impales you," Shirou said calmly ignoring her futile struggling, "is Gae Dearg, the Crimson Rose of Excorcism. While it touches you, you will be unable to use magecraft."

Her eyes widened and her face became a rictus of hate.

"Damn you," she snarled, reptilian features surfacing, "Damn you all to the Pit!"

Shirou merely shrugged at her rage filled statement.

"I want information, Lamia," he said causing her to freeze at his statement of her name, "If you do so I give you my word that neither my companions nor myself will attack you unless you attack us of the others of our party for the duration of our stay in the British Isles."

Clarisse and the others looked at him in disbelief but before they could protest Lamia spoke up.

"You would let a monster go, so long as you got information?" she said in a pain filled tone.

He sighed softly.

"As far as monsters go you are far from the worst and also as long as I get correct information then I am willing to make deals with the lesser devils if it means we can kill the greater ones. Betray or lie to me though," he said twisting the spear and hardening his voice, "and I will make the curse layed upon you by Hera seem like a gift from God in comparison. Understood?"

Lamia looked into the face of the man and saw the resolve of steel in his eyes. A resolve to do what needed to be done and an unshakeable conviction. She knew that he would carry out his threat if she tricked them and he had the ability to.

She sighed in resignation.

"What do you need to know?"

"There are probably monsters running around that are new to the area. They would be working together and looking for something on the old battlefields. What do you know about it?" Shirou rapidly asked as the others finally calmed down and listened.

Lamia snorted.

"That's old news. That lot have been digging up earth in Somerset for the last three months. From what I've heard there are a couple of nasties and some low level divine beings heading up the operation. Funny thing though, they are using some mortals who seem to know what they are working for."

Will frowned at the information and asked his own question to the prisoner.

"Clear sighted mortals? In that number?" he questioned puzzled.

"They are not clear-sighted, persay," she answered with a roll of her eyes "but they can see what they are working with, just not the others."

Shirou looked at her before allowing the spear to shatter and turned to leave, saying as he did.

"My thanks for the information. I wish you well in life, Queen of Libya." he said as he stalked away.

The others of the group frowned but backed away and followed him.

Leaving a surprised Lamia on the cold rooftop wondering that such a powerful was willing to let her live.

Shaking off her surprise, she focused for a moment before shimmering away to her home to heal.

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Momus was having a blast.

The Romans were so rigid in their forms together that could not seem to adapt to his hit and run like tactics. He never aimed for vital spots but simply blurred past them with his daggers trailing in his wake and glided across the visible portions of their skin drawing blood. His speed and agility were too much for them to stay bunched together. Anytime they advanced on him, he would leapt on a wall in the alley and push off sending him either over their heads or around their shield wall allowing him to attack from behind.

It was like trying to hit smoke.

Finally Momus began to get bored and singled out the child of the dead for his first kill. With a sudden change of tactics he blurred straight into their line and knocked them away causing Hazel to be exposed. He disdainfully knocked her spatha from her loose grip and reared back his hand for the final blow.

Frank leaned against the wall dazed before he focus on their adversary. He stood in front of a crouching Hazel. He saw the dagger lifting back, the scared face of Hazel and something snapped inside him. A primal fury. An endless rage.

An uncaged beast.

Momus never saw it coming.

An almighty roar shook the alley as a massive form slammed into the God of Mockery's back sending him flying further into the alley and into a pile of used diapers. The roaring figure charged a dazed and smelly Momus and swung its paw in a backhand at the skull of the deity.

Momus noticed the danger at the last moment and tried to lean away from the blow. Instead striking his head from his shoulders it sent him flying into the back wall of the alley. The beast tried to charge again but was sent back into his now awake friends by a burst of divine power. It stayed there growling heavily and standing protectively on all fours in front Hazel, its ursine face filled with feral rage.

Momus staggered to his feet, his face dripping ichor and clearly missing an eye. His face seethed with rage and hate.

"You will pay for this boy!" he snarled, his body glowing, "you and your pathetic line will know the vengeance of Momus!"

With those last words, the deity flashed and vanished leaving a howling rage filled laughter in his wake.

The Romans all breathed a sigh of relief before turning to the ursine form of their compatriot.

Hazel rubbed the still growling bear's head causing it to calm slowly before it seemed to slump forward and shrink until it returned to the form Frank Zhang.

An unconscious Frank Zhang.

An unconscious and naked Frank Zhang.

An unconscious, naked and skyward facing Frank Zhang.

Hazel squeaked and blushed before turning away as did Reyna, leaving only an outright laughing son of Bacchus to pick up the child of Mars and wrap him in his cloak. It barely covered his modesty.

"Come on girls," Dakota said chuckling and flinging Frank over shoulder like a sack of potatoes, "I think we have had enough excitement for tonight,"

"Agreed," said Reyna, who picked up Frank's spear, "let us return to the hotel to heal and hope that Shirou's group has obtained the information,"

Dakota chuckled deeply.

"That man has more tricks up his sleeve than a magician has rabbits in his hat. I'm sure he will be fine."

Reyna smiled slightly as she observed Hazel walking behind the burly Centurion, fussing over Frank.

"Yes, he does.' she agreed.

They all set off unaware that their battle had been observed.

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Patchwork leant against a railing on a window washer's elevators. His left eye glowed brightly as he took in both of the battle's and analyzed them.

He started chuckling to him self.

That shapeshifting boy was interesting to him. A great prize to attach to his hide and add to his power. The swordsman however caused him to frown. He was as fast and strong as him and could use those weapons of his with equal skill.

He would have to summon some help.

As he walked down the side of the building his hand drifted to the necklace of a red lion like animal with a wide mouthy grin.

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Hey folks hope you enjoyed the chapter. Here is a servant saber.

Servant Saber  
Name: Lady Trieu  
Alias: The Lady General clad in a Golden Robe

Strength B  
Agility A+  
Endurance C  
Mana C  
Luck B+  
Noble Phantasm B+

Class Skills

Magical Resistance: B

Riding: A

Personal Skills

Nature of a Rebellious Spirit: A  
During her life she refused to take up traditional roles of the woman and refused to give to the invading chinese.

Independent Action: B  
She was driven by her own goals and never backed down from them.

Divinity: C  
After her death she was recognised as a hero and was venerated as goddess ever since by the people of Vietnam.

Mystic Face: B++  
Lady Trieu was said to have a voice of a temple bell that struck fear into the heart of men and they feared her gaze. She now has the Face of Absolute Terror. It acts on the primal fear, the fear that freezes the mouse when it sees the serpent. When her voice is heard or her eyes make contact, at her discretion, the opponents mind is filled with such terror that it is unable to transmit thoughts to action. It can be resisted by magical or mental defences of B rank and negated at A. Bonuses apply against males and Chinese heroes.

Noble Phantasms

Bat Chinh Anh Hung Tai Trinh Nhat Phu Nhan: Our Pure Lady  
Anti-Unit Passive Support  
B  
A basis on her peoples belief in her physical appearance and abilities. Manifested as a 9 foot giantess with three feet long breasts and able to travel 500 leagues in a day.  
This becomes her appearance along with a Rank-Up in physical parameters. However this only applies so long as she is 'pure'. As such no curse can lay upon her or filth (except blood) touch her or it will end.

Broken Fetters: Free from all  
Anti-Army  
B  
A Bounded Field that activates with the words "I'd like to ride the storms, kill sharks in the open sea, drive out the agressors, reconquer the country, undo the ties of serfdom and never bend my back to be the concubine of whatever man". It imposes the concept of 'freedom/unhindered'. As such whatever is unnatural to her spirit or not of her is stripped from her ie curses, wounds etc. In addition, within the confines of the field, her spirit is not constrained by the by limitations of her vessel. This essentially means she comes damn close to a fully manifested Heroic Spirit and can use her Mount of the Rider Class.

White Grass: With me walk a Thousand  
Anti-Army / Anti-Fortress  
A+++  
A great white elephant upon which she rode into battle. Within it is contained the combined strength of her 1000 warriors in addition to it being a Divine Beast level being. Intelligent and with immense destructive power. Unable to be touched by spiritual weapons and a severe danger to spiritual bodies, it is also almost sacrosanct from spells from all but the greatest of Casters.

Equipment  
Two curved sabers.

How do you like it. Please review.


	17. Marking Time

Hey folks I hope you enjoy the chapter. Also to GorunNova Shirou didn't need to change his signature because he was originally from PJ-verse Ilya was not.

Chapter 17

Marking Time

Marriott Hotel  
London  
Wednesday, February 9, 2010  
12:30am

The group of demigods sat at the table waiting for their fearless leader to speak.

"Right," Shirou said scrubbing his hair tiredly, "Let's recap. We have confirmed that digging works are taking place in Somerset and that they have some gods on their side. We have also confirmed that Momus also known as the God of Mockery, has emerged from whatever hole he used to dwell in after being banished from Olympus. Lastly, that Frank is able to shapeshift into various animals. Is that about it?"

The rest all nodded in assent.

Shirou blew out a hard breath.

"Okay," he continued, "Good News. I believe I know the spear that they are trying to find."

Will raised an eyebrow.

"Why do I have the feeling we are going to get a shock?" he mused.

Shirou snorted.

"The spear we may be after would be Rhongomynyad, wielded by King Arthur to slay Mordred at the Battle of Camlann."

The heroes all gaped. No matter that they were children of the gods, the story and legend of King Arthur was something that even they would feel as legendary.

Reyna was the first to shake herself back to normal.

"And what is the bad news?" she asked faintly, still somewhat overwhelmed at the mention of Arthur.

"It was said in several legends that Arthurs body and his weapons, save the sword Excalibur, were taken to the Isle of Avalon, the hidden realm of the Fae, where he would rest only to rise again as King." Shirou replied solemnly, his mind turning back to the days and nights he fought beside the King of Knights.

"How is that bad?" Frank said puzzled, "I mean even if Avalon is a hidden island then we could find it with a bit of help and fairies aren't very frightening."

Shirou laughed darkly setting them all on edge.

"Avalon is the realm of the Fae not fairies. Fae are more like maenads than those pixie like beings you are thinking of. They are powerful, vengeful and they do not think like humans."  
As one the group gulped at the thought of such adversaries. Especially Dakota who knew full well how dangerous maenads could be.

Shirou sighed in frustration.

"If we have to deal with the Fae, it will be extremely dangerous. Hopefully that harpy will give us an advantage or something that will help us in this endeavour. "

He looked around at the daunted room.

"Get some sleep," he ordered, "we will have our answers tomorrow, one way or another. Until then there is no point in worrying about it."

They all nodded and shuffled off to their bunks as Shirou kept sitting at the table. His mind elsewhere as his body sat frozen.

Even as the hours until dawn ticked by, he kept sitting, remembering the moments he shared with a blond and green eyed girl. A king in her own right.

The King of Knights.

He shook it off after a while and as he went to rest thought that he would make a report to the Olympian Council in the morning.

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Somerset  
Present

In a seemingly empty field a shower of golden light coalesced. Once it finished it flashed to reveal an angry, vengeful and wounded God of Mockery.

"Raaaargh!" he yelled to the sky even as his left eye socket dripped tears of blood.

"Damn that boy. Damn the misbegotten child of the sea. Damn that entire line!" He roared to the darkness of the night.

An admiring whistle broke him out of his righteous rage.

"Well now," commented the masked assassin as he leaned against a low stone wall, "looks like someone got a good hit in," he said chuckling.

Momus faced turned red again in pure rage and humiliation.

"It was a lucky strike," he snarled, "I had no idea that wretched sea spawn was able to shapeshift. Next time we meet he will not be so lucky," he finished almost hissing with hate and his voice dripped vitriol.

"Ease up, my friend," said Patchwork holding his hands up in surrender, "I have no desire to mess with you,"

Momus took a deep calming breath as he pulled a bottle of nectar from his ragged coar and poured over his gaping eye socket causing it to hiss and close.

He would not be growing back his eye anytime soon.  
"What do you want?" Momus growled irritation still lining his voice.

Patchwork coughed slightly.

"Just reporting in." he spoke calmly, "I saw the fights myself, if not all of them."

Momus grimaced. The assassin had been watching but didn't attack the other group or aid him in his scuffle.

"I don't need for you to report on the Roman group. Just give me the details on the Greeks."

Patchwork nodded in assent.

"The managed to capture and interrogate Lamia. They know about where the search is taking place, so be prepared for some company over the next few days," he reported.

Momus cursed. They still hadn't found the spear and now the hero squad would be strolling through to find it and, knowing the fickleness of the Fates, they probably will.

"Go on." he groaned as he rubbed his still sore eyeless socket thinking absently of what artificial replacement to put in.

"The biggest threat of that bit is the weird son of Poseidon. His skills are not water based but rather some form of Mist Creation involving weapons. He is fast, strong, skilled, smart and very experienced to the point that I know several gods that would get creamed by him. Honestly though, I still think he has aces up his sleeve."

Momus snarled and frowned. Another sea spawn to deal with and one who is probably able to match himself in physical attributes and is used to fighting in melee as a lone fighter (considering that he is Greek). Not the ideal opponent for himself.

Patchwork interrupted his slightly fearful thoughts (not that he would admit it).

"But," the assassin singsonged, "I have an idea to take him out and I know where we can ambush him,"

Momus' eyebrow over his remaining eye rose in invitation to explain.

"They're meeting an informant of some type in the Big Ben bell tower at 11:30am today," the masked man explained, "more than enough time to lay an ambush, if," he stressed, "you help me summon the required attackers."

Momus mused to himself. Help the assassin take out the annoying demigod that was a threat to all their plans or get summoned by The Lord and hope for his nonexistent mercy.

It was an easy choice.

"What do I need to summon?" said Momus as he cracked his fingers in preparation for a bit of magic.

The assassin seemed to give off the feeling of smirking and drew a necklace from beneath the dark hued bodysuit.

The pendant on it was an interesting figure. a lion's body and forepaws with a horse's back hooves and tail. Its fur was painted blood red as were the eyes that were set in the freakish mix of horse and wolf like head. Its most unique feature was the widely grinning mouth that stretched from ear to ear.

Momus eyes gleamed evilly in recognition.

"Leucrotae," he whispered maliciously.

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Mount Olympus  
New York  
Wednesday, February 9, 2010  
7:30am

The Olympians were all, by chance, in attendance when the call came.

They were discussing the build up of their forces for an upcoming confrontation. There were various reactions as the word came down through the ranks that another breat prophecy was issued and is active.

Athena and Artemis were both stoic, accepting but disliking the thought of war.

Ares, of course, was filled with a hidden glee that more conflict was on the horizon.

Hephaestus, Hermes, Apollo, Aphrodite, Demeter and Poseidon were violently disliking having their children once more dance with death.

Hestia & Hera were despairing.

Dionysus, for once, was dead serious and urged everyone to prepare.

Hades was annoyed that he would have to deal with a further large influx of souls.

Zeus presided over the ongoing arguments neutrally watching as they all bickered and argued and remained in complete silence.

"Lords and Ladies," a voice called halting the arguments and drawing attention.

Zeus turned to the IM that called his attention to see that Iris herself was in the message.

"Yes, Iris," he said surprised.

The goddess shifted nervously.  
"I have call for you from London. The young man was most insistent that he speak to the Council. Will you accept the call?"

Eyes around the room widened as they understood that a demigod on quest was attempting to speak to the entire council. The temerity of a being to do so was rather large in their not so humble opinion.

Zeus frowned for a moment. To acknowledge the call would be to accept the caller as an equal while at the same time to ignore it was to perhaps take their eyes away from the ever encroaching threat of war. In the end it came down to pride and prudence.

He choose prudence.

"I will accept the call." he said firmly to the Council's surprise.

Iris nodded and without another word the screen wavered before focusing to reveal Shirou Emiya staring directly at him.

Poseidon frowned as he looked at his son (thought of which still stirred a feeling of amazed happiness in his heart). He was not in as good a shape as he should be. His face was pale and stress lines were developing as well as large dark bags beneath his eyes. His shoulders also showed a slight droop as if he were carrying a heavy burden and knew that to drop it was to invite disaster.

"Lords and Ladies of Olympus." he spoke with a respectful nod, "My apologies for my rudeness in barging in on your important discussions but some things were made known to me that need to be passed on to the appropriate authorities."

"What do you mean, dude?" asked a confused Apollo.

His reply was swift.

"We have able to identify several of the enemies forces. One of which is a deity by the name of Momus."

The Council collectively growled at the name, even gentle Hestia. He was an unpleasant deity to say the least and lived for nothing more than tearing people down. Several of his mortal victims had commited suicide to escape his malicious whispers. He was also known to target demigods of Athena, Poseidon and Hermes as they were the last straw that saw him cast from Olympus.

"That rodent," growled the God of the Seas, trying to mask his worries that both a legacy and a child were placed against such a cruel and ruthless god.

Shirou continued.

"He has been taken care of for now, however. Frank Zhang, son of Mars, was able to griveously wound him and drive him off after he had changed into a large bear form."

The council relaxed and Ares flickered to his Mars aspect for a moment to beam a proud smirk.

"There is a larger threat though," Shirou said grabbing their attention that there was a greater threat than a deity with a large grudge against them.

Surprisingly Dionysus was the one to ask how.

"Apparently an assassin named Patchwork has been hired to align against us."

Hermes eyes snapped up from his thoughts at that name.

"You sure that was the name?" he asked intently, his eyes burning a cold fire.

Shirou nodded while the rest of the council were surprised at the usually happy gods serious face.

Hermes scrubbed his face in weariness and answered the unasked questions from his family.

"He's the world's current top assassin. Anything you can imagine can't be done, can be done by him for a price. Ruthless, Methodical, Cruel, Sadistic, Skilled. All these and more would describe him. No one messes with this guy unless they want a quick trip to the Underworld."

Shirou snorted in derision bringing attention back to him.

"He's much worse than that," he said as a cold rage surfaced in his voice, "I know for a fact he has deliberately hunted down and killed several demigods."

The uproar amongst the Council was loud until Zeus silenced them with his master bolt.

"Why?" Zeus growled with true anger. He may not like some the demigods but they are nominally his subjects and are therefore under his protection. Someone hunting them was enough to rouse his royal anger.

Shirou looked a bit sick as he replied.

"Experimentation and Body modification."

Seeing their slightly confused looks he explqained.

"Patchwork is the last of a long line of assassins. The ones who coined the term assassin. The Hassan ibn Sabbah from Persia. The greatest of the masters had singularly unique skills that were the result of body modification or mental training. Self Induced MPD. Weapons grafted onto the body and various others. This one uses Flesh Assimilation." here he took a large breath and swallowed, "He identifies demigods and looks for clues as to their parentage and possible traits they would have. If they meet his standards then he captures them and tears of a body part of theirs and adds it to his own. Whilst still alive, he then drains their blood and then through secret rites binds it to him. Thereby granting him the abilities of said demigod focused and magnified in the body part he transplanted."

The throne room was filled with a horrified silence before Zeus let out an almighty roar that made thunder crash for the next five minutes before Hera was finally able to calm him despite her own pale green and tear streaked face.

The rest of the council while quiet looked both sick and murderous. Apollo especially was beyond livid due to this being utterly reprehensible to his domains. Athena was also not far behind.

Artemis then spoke her tone a cold rage.

"What are the gifts he has stolen?" her voice harsh as winter.

Shirou sighed wearily before answering.

"In his left eye, a precognitive and clairvoyant eye of Apollo. His right arm was taken from a child of Mars, thus granting it increased strength and weapon proficiency. His left arm came from a legacy child of Zeus thus allowing for lightning generation on immense levels. His feet came from a child of Hermes allowing him to teleport, increased speed and to treat all surfaces as if they were roads like running up walls or upside down. Finally, his face has been grafted with skin from a daughter of Aphrodite, allowing him to change his features at the drop of a hat."

The mentioned deities turned alternately pale and red in pain, illness and utter rage. The rest were not far behind.

Aphrodite growled before looking deep into a sorrowful Shirou's eyes.

"I don't care what favours I have to grant you or blessing to give. I want that man dead in any way possible and damn the consequences."

Shirou nodded solemnly.

"You didn't even have to ask. Once he is in my sights I swear to you he will not escape alive."

"See that he does not." she hissed in pure hate.

"That is all I need to report as of now," Shirou said looking at the still seething room in general, "I thank you for your time,"

With that the IM finished leaving only the thrones occupants twisting in sorrow and rage.

Patchwork had better start watching his back because for once the council was united in one thing.

His death.

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Big Ben  
London  
Wednesday, February 9, 2010  
11:00am

The quest calmly walked into the bottom of the clock tower and pretended to browse around. Keeping close together they made their way to stairs leading to the upper floors.

It would be a long trip for them.

As they steadily made their way up they kept their hand near their weapons readying themselves for any attack.

They eventually emerged from the stairwell into a large arched room in which hung enourmous bells.

Frank was the first to fall to his knees panting along with Nico and Will.

"Finally," he said wiping his brow of sweat, "That was a lot of steps,"

"Three Hundred and thirty four to be exact," a voice giggled causing them to all turn to it.

Coming from behind one of the large gears came an immense cyclops, easily ten feet at the shoulder. His dark brown hair matched his single eye that gave off a sense of peace rather than feral anger. Upon his shouder perched a small red haired and feathered harpy as she smiled softly at them with kindness in her coffee brown eyes.

Shirou moved forwards before the others could reach for their weapons and bowed slightly tot the odd pair.

"My greetings to you Lady Ella and to you brother," he said respectfully.

The cyclops blinked slowly before giving a childish smile.

"Brother," it said slowly but happily, "How is sister?"

Shirou smiled.

"Training hard and living well," responded to the stick wielding cyclops.

The others were slightly confused with the Romans remaining tense, while the Greeks had relaxed slightly upon recognising both the beings.

"Ella is good. Ella is happy to meet the King of the End," the rather beautiful harpy responded, causing Shirou to stiffen slightly in discomfort.

"Please," he requested,"I would rather you not refer to me as such."

Ella nodded solemnly.

"Ella understands,"

Shirou relaxed again and quickly spoke.

"The quest and I need your help, Lady Ella. We are looking for the keys to the Blackest Door. Can you help us?"

Ella shifted uncomfortably causing Tyson, the cyclops, reach up and stroke her. She closed her eyes a moment before they snapped open.

Her voice rang out eerily around the chamber.

"The door had been claimed by the Order black,  
Never again to be claimed back,  
The sword lies bound in endless sands,  
The greatest sword alike in greatest hands,  
The book long since burned to ash,  
rising again like a phoenix in a scarlet flash,  
The spear is placed with the corpse of the king,  
Upon the island where the gold wings sing,  
To step upon that sacred isle,  
Heed the tongue and heart of the End's guile."

Her voice died out as she seemed to pant in exhaustion at the strength required to speak the prophecy.

Shirou and the others mulled over the words and commited them to memory.

Shirou quickly bowed to the pair.

"We thank you for-" he was interrupted by a loud CLACK.

The group stopped and listened. Tyson slowly bringing his exhausted avian friend to his chest in protection as his hand tensed around his club.

CLACK CLA-CLA-CLA-CLACK!

Shadows in the room shifted as large animals began to emerge. As they did so from erupted different noises and voices like a badly tuned radio.

The quest and the pair drew their weapons to bear around the chamber. They were surrounded by at least a dozen of the beasts.

The beasts finally finished their circling movement and froze in place, their red eyes afire with a bestial hunger as they focused on the demigods and others before them.

A larger animal, obviously the alpha, gave the command to his pack.

"Finish Him!" it called in a perfect copy of the Mortal Kombat announcer.

With a last CLACK they pounced.

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Here's my new servant.

Servant Caster  
Name: Orpheus  
Title: Father of Songs, Master of Strings

Strength D  
Agility C  
Endurance C  
Mana A  
Luck B  
Noble Phantasm A+++

Class Skills:

Territory Creation: B+

Item Creation: C

Personal Skills:

Divinity: B+  
A child of Apollo and by some accounts one of the muses.

Charisma: A-  
Able to persuade even the grim Hades himself, but it is down due to his sorrow.

Bravery: B+  
He journeyed to the underworld and voyaged with Jason facing many fearful encounters.

Empathy: A  
A man of a sensitive nature his heart led him and his compassion was second to none.  
He can sense the emotions of others and cannot be lied to or deceived. Mental effects are almost useless against him.

Noble Phantasms:

Lyra: Theatre of the World  
Anti-Unit  
B  
Orpheus was said to be the master of the lyre beyond even Hermes and Apollo who had given him the golden lyre.  
It is strings of prana that emerge from his fingers and act as a form of telekinesis. Its true strength lies in the legend of it making people dance and sway to him. When attached to a Servant or other being it is able to control their actions like a puppet. It overrides conscious thought by sending it into a blissful state. Mental defences and Magical Resistance of B rank and above are required to resist it.

Earth Voice: Song of Gaia  
Anti-Army  
EX  
Orpheus voice was said to make trees and rocks dance, calm the beasts and divert the course of rivers.  
This is manifested in the form of his voice in song being able to manipulate any natural substance. He can make earth rise, turn to gems and craft it into shape as well as plenty of other uses to defend or attack. He does so by persuading Gaia herself to craft the landscape. Essentially this ability is a walking Marble Phantasm.

Eurydice: Leading the Way to False Life  
Anti-Army  
A+  
His most famous act of leading his dead wife from the Underworld but failing at the last moment.  
Through the use of Earth Voice he can craft statues of many things. With this Phantasm he can bring them to life. With a semi-sentient intelligence these are like super familiars. Dragons, Beasts, People. Nothing is out of the question of creation. They will not have the power of true beings but they will be a match for any low ranked Servant if properly made.


	18. A Glint of Destruction

Chapter 18

A Glint of Destruction

Big Ben Bell Tower  
Present

The scarlet beasts flowed towards them like a wave. Their jaws clacking in a macabre staccato beat as as they came. One leapt ahead of the others and pounced for Will. Will coolly waited for the right moment and then attempted a perfect stop thrust.

Attempted being the key word.

The sword as it stabbed out it struck the front torso of the slavering beast.

And deflected off.

Will's eyes widened in panic as his ineffective blow coupled with the momentum of the beast wrenched the blade from his hands as it landed on him, pinning him to the ground allowing it to strike out with its jaws.

The fangs slashed forward toward a frantic Will's throat before a firm kick from a black combat boot struck it's head from the side and sent it spinning away into the rest of the pack sending them all stumbling.

Will scrambled to his feet as he glanced at his pepper haired saviour, his face lined in thought and puzzlement.

"Thanks for the save," Will gasped as he quickly rearmed himself with his bow and stepped to the back of the group in tandem with Frank who had also drawn his bow.

"Don't mention it," Shirou grunted, "If you want to thank me, you can figure out what these things are and why in the name of the Root and Throne your sword had no effect."

The quest formed up quickly as the beasts untangled themselves. Shirou & Reyna took the front with Nico, Dakota, Clarisse and Hazel in the middle and the archers at the back. Ella and Tyson had stood beside the archers with the cyclops growling and holding the still tired harpy. His lone eye filled with anger as slowly and menacingly swung his club ready to strike at anything that approached.

Reyna analyzed the now growling and clacking beasts as the reorganised themselves and began circling them. They were scarlet furred with hooved hindquarters, feline forequarters and unsettling crimson eyes set a skull that seemed a sickening blend with a horse and a wolf with great Glasglow like grin.

Not to mention they were approximately five feet at the shoulder.

Not the most handsome of animals in either case.

One the beast became impatient and darted at a truly incredible speed toward Hazel's flank only to swiftly meet a flying sword that struck it point first between the eyes. It was knocked back with a loud yelp of surprise but was quickly back on its unmatched feet and began circling with its pack once more.

The sword had not even dazed it nor penetrated the skin.

Shirou frowned heavily as he allowed the golden glow of Kiritsugu to die away. The sword had been going supersonic and yet it had not pierced the skull of the absurdly fast monster. It seemed that it's hide was impermeable to weapons.

Wonderful.

Hazel's slightly pale face suddenly lit up.

"I think they are leucrotae," she spoke in a hushed tone as she carefully kept an eye on the now identified monsters.

"And they are?" Dakota asked in a drawling tone as his sword and shield were held ready to block or - well block anyway.

"They are beasts from India," she said while keeping a wary eye for any charges, "they are fast, able to mimic voices and, most importantly, unable to be killed by any metal of man or god." she finished grimly.

The group and pair felt ice go down their backs. None of them had any abilities outside of their weapon skills for the most part. They suddenly became very aware of their vulnerability.

As if sensing this, three leucrotae dashed at them, the others halting and watching the attack. The three leapt for Clarisse, only for one to be swatted aside by her and the other two to struck and forced back by Reyna and Shirou.

The attacks did not harm them.

They rose swiftly to their feet and rejoined the clacking and laughing circle of hunger.

As they all circled again the demigods were making sure not to show fear. They were trapped with no way to kill their opponents.

The luck of demigod truly sucks.

Shirou narrowed his eyes in thought. The weapons they used were unable to penetrate their hide but were able to make contact with them. He needed something that could bypass the skin, not kill by piercing or not be made of metal if the information was accurate.

A bit of a tall order in his opinion but manageable.

Will grunted suddenly causing them all to perk up a bit.

"I have an idea," he said as he slowly approached the front of the group, "when I give the signal, close your eyes tightly shut and keep your ears sharp okay?"

"What are you up, Sunny?" growled Clarisse.

Will smirked slightly as he stood tall in front.

"Making them feel the Sun's glare," he responded cryptically.

He stood before the now still beasts and began to speak lyrically.

"_Before my eyes lies my foe,  
Scarlet fur and eyes aglow,  
Heed me now, Father to lie them low,"_

As he spoke Will began to glow brightly. The beasts sensing something amiss charged enmasse, only for them to be slammed backward by the combined forces of Tyson's massive sweeping club, several swords from Shirou and sweeping strikes from Clarisse and Reyna.

The son of Apollo continued.

_"Let your gift upon us shine,  
For now I declare victory is MIne!"_

He was now glowing brighter than a spotlight as he once more stepped between his friends and the beasts who seemed about to cower.

"Now!" Will roared causing the quest and pair to shut their eyes.

Suddenly and immense roar of flame and heat seemed to fill the air. As if the Sun itself had appeared within the chamber, It was swiftly accompanied by horrible death screams of things clearly not human. It all too quickly died away leaving only the feeling of heat, the harsh breaths of an exhausted person and the smell of burnt flesh.

Shirou's eyes snapped open again and gazed about him. Will was barely standing in front of him in burnt rags with burns and charred flesh visible. The others opened their eyes as Shirou's boots made swift strides across the floor to aid his friend.

What they gazed upon disturbed them.

Where the beasts had been, there was now only piles of gold ash and a scorched floor from where he had stood to the face of the Big Ben Clock. Incidentally there was also a large melted hole in the glass face of the clock as if a hot rod was pushed through it and melted the glass.

The group, minus Shirou who was wrapping Will in his coat, were stunned at the damage.

"Di Immortales," whispered Nico to the agreement of the rest.

"Admire later," Shirou snapped as he lifted the now wrapped and unconscious child of Apollo, "we need to leave before the local law enforcement show up."

They all stirred themselves from the shock and nodded in agreement.

"Tyson, Ella." Shirou said as he strode forward with Will in his arms, "Thank you for your help and do not hesitate to ask for favour if you need something."

The cyclops nodded quietly as he gently cradled the now sleeping harpy.

"Thanks, Brother," he rumbled as he slowly began to shimmer and then the two beings vanished with a swift breeze that smelt of the sea.

The quest swiftly made they way to the street, just barely avoiding the incoming officials. They had merged with the milling crowd by now, who were looking and pointing at the gaping hole in the Big Ben's clock face. They soon arrived a remote car park in which Shirou called forth his comby and they all piled in with Will laid gently on one of the beds.

A few moments later the vehicle was roaring down the streets of London making its way to Somerset.

As Shirou drove onwards, Reyna began examining the wounds on Will.

"Jove's Thunder," she whispered in shock as she saw the charring and blisters, "what did he do to himself?"

"A last resort," Shirou answered grimly, "it is not something to be used lightly."

"You know what he did?" enquired Hazel.

"Light of Destruction," he answered, "It is an ability that is only given to the cabin leader of Apollo as his sign of authority. It allows Will to summon forth the destructive aspects of the sun. Heat, flame and raw power. No defence can stand against it nor can it be deflected. It hits and it will turn the enemy to ash. The consequence for this power is that it must use the user as a medium. Will's body, for a brief time, felt as if he were dropped into the Sun itself. It could have killed him to use it."

The rest of the quest all raised their eyebrows in shock at such an ability and paled greatly at the cost involved. Reyna, meanwhile, had listened and rummaged in the fridge for nectar. Upon success, she quickly returned to the injured boy's side and began applying it to the wounds.

Even sleeping, Will groaned in relief as the nectar caused his body to steam and heal. Five minutes later, Will was now sleeping comfortably, completely healed of his horrid wounds.

"He's healed." Reyna said as she brought the now empty bowl of nectar to the sink to wash it.

"Good," the swordsman grunted as he drove, "go relax for a while guys. It is a three hour trip to our destination."

"And that is?" Dakota asked dryly as he leaned back in his seat.

"Glastonbury Tor."

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Hey folks sorry for the short chapter and long wait but I have to hash out some of the story line more clearly. Also I would like for you to decide if I should include Chrysaor or Ixion as minor antagonist in Somerset. Also I ask if I should make a Campione crossover. Possibly either Harry Potter with Harry Potter or Buffy with Xander as the protagonist. If I do so be prepared, I will not use Verethragna. If Harry Potter, I will build him along the lines of a Hunter and Mage rather than a warrior. If Xander I will go the Earth and Steel route. But it is subject to change.

Servant Lancer  
Name: Cadmus  
Title: Dragon King of Thebes

Strength B+  
Agility A  
Endurance C+  
Mana C  
Luck E  
Noble Phantasm A

Class Skills

Magical Resistance: C

Personal Skills:

Runecraft: B  
While he is not the most tutored of magi he was attributed to bringing writing to Greece and learned the mysteries of the kaberoi of Samothrace.  
He is able to use Phoenician letters in runecraft.

Bravery: B+  
He has faced down the Isthemnian Serpent and cast it down. Bonus melee damage to dragon like beings.

Divinity: E  
A grandson of Poseidon but dislikes the gods.

Charisma: C  
A King of multiple cities however the curse that followed does not allow it to achieve its full potential

Monstrous Strength: A  
Able to call upon the strength and power of the dragon he became. Strength and Endurance increase a full rank for a period of time.

Noble Phantasms

Petra Pallas: The Stone which Pierces  
Anti-Unit  
B+  
In different accounts Cadmus was able to slay the Istemnian Drakon by either casting a stone or use of a spear.  
This deed is immortalized in form of a spear made of stone. With bonus damage against those aligned with dragons. Its true gift acts in the form of between a rock and a hard place. When struck with it in melee combat the limb struck is frozen in place. If it hits an arm then the entire arm and hand can not move, frozen in the position it was struck in. If struck in the head the entire body is frozen. If it is cast and strikes the target, the force when it hits is equal to as if the opponent was a statue unable to move with the blow to lessen the attack. The blow can only be withstood.

Spartoi: Warriors of the Earth Dragon  
Anti-Army  
B  
When he sowed the teeth of the Isthemnian Serpent into the earth these beings sprung up and after a battle some were left to found Thebes.  
When Petra Pallas is struck into the ground and stays there the Spartoi are summoned. As long as the spear is in the ground they can be continuously summoned. The Spartoi are not up to the level of a servant but are beyond any magus. In addition they can regenerate when in contact with the earth. They are unable to move beyond a set distance of the spear.

Discordant Harmony: In a Skin of Ruin  
Anti Army/ Anti Fortress/ Anti Unit  
A+++  
At the end of his unfortunate life he made a cry to the gods that if they were so enamoured of the serpent he slew then he would like to live as one. They granted that desire.  
Cadmus takes on the form of the Isthemnian Serpent. A drakon of Ares. A nigh indestructible force. Where conflict is it strength grows. Stats in comparison to Servants are:  
Strength A+  
Agility D  
Endurance A++  
Mana A  
Luck E  
In addition it is able to spew forth poison strong enough to kill Servants and its hide is covered in stone and Mana is continuously supplied by the earth as long as it is contact with it.


	19. Author's Note

Hi to all you fans of mine.

Sorry to be bearer of bad news but I have hit a bit of road block in my story. As such I will be placing this story on Hiatus for an undetermined period of time until I can work where I want to take this.

In addition, I have posted the beginning of another story that has been interrupting my thoughts and begging for attention for a while now.

It is crossover of Harry Potter and Campione. Please read it and tell me what you think. Also send in some ideas for Heretic Gods along with the links that make them up and their associated Authorities.

Once again I apologise,

kujikiri21


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